A Five-Year-Old and God
“The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit – it looked like a dove – descending and landing on him.” Matthew 3.16 [The Message]
Does the unassuming wisdom of a small child amaze you? Recently I spent some time with my five-year-old cousin who is beginning kindergarten in a couple of days. After showing me all of his swimming tricks, we settled into some quiet time – the kind that you can only experience with a five-year-old and a two-year-old. Our conversation turned to God. This is probably not a fair question, but I asked Robert what he thought God looked like. He squinted his eyes, looking up as if thinking and this is how the rest of the conversation went… approximately:
“I think God is a man,” he responded.
“A man. Describe God some more for me.”
“I think he might be white.”
“You think he might be white. Why white?”
“Because God is in the sky. He matches the sky.”
“He matches the sky. What else can you tell me about God?”
“He makes lightening when he puts his finger on the earth. He controls the weather, you know.”
“He controls the weather. That’s pretty cool. Does God do anything else?”
“Sometimes he hears people at night.”
“What does God hear people saying at night?”
“He listens to prayers about everything. He puts them in his prayer box.”
At this point, Robert is more interested in distracting his little brother than more conversation with me, but I am left once again in awe of the spiritual capacity of one so small. Did anyone sit down and teach Robert these things about God? Some of it he has learned through his parents and his priest. But, believing God to be white because God is part of the sky is profound. Robert has inferred that God lives in a space that exists everywhere.
So often we disregard what children say as “cute” instead of profound. But by listening to the thoughts of these “pure of heart”, we may find a refreshed connection in our own relationships with God.
Resources:
Matthew 3
Joining Children on the Faith Journey by Catherine Stonehouse
God’s Paintbrush by Sandy Sasso
