“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.” Matthew 18.2

2017 was marked by two wonderful Ephesians 3.20-21 blessings of God in my personal life:

My oldest daughter married, and she married very well, saying “I do” to a man who loves God and her very much. I was privileged to both walk her down the aisle and officiate the wedding – friends and family came from around the world to celebrate with us;

And, (drum roll, please), my wife and I became grandparents for the very first time. Her name is Audrey and she is wonderful beyond words.

All that is truly important in life is wrapped up in this little princess: every smile, every embrace, every moment of play, every breath, they all speak of God – His eternity, presence, truth, love, and grace. It leaves me asking, “Why couldn’t this have happened years ago?”

Little ones like Audrey may not articulate their thoughts in words adults can understand, but they speak. Oh yes, they most certainly do speak.

And if we are willing to listen with our hearts, they have much to teach us.

 

PROFESSOR AUDREY

Audrey is just days short of being one year old, and she has used her first year very well, teaching me much about life. No surprise there, for Jesus said . . .

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” Matthew 11.25-26

Could it be that God has revealed these things to children so they can teach us, and so that we can remain truly children of God? The joys and virtues of being children of God need not end with our transition into adulthood, but should define us all our lives. For it is a child’s heart, whatever our age, that keeps us forever young.

Let me share with you just a few of the teaching treasures Audrey tutored me in during 2017. May these simple and profound truths serve you well as you continue your quest to stay forever young, a child of God eternally.

“. . . unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18.3

 

1. The Destination is Worth the Journey

Late last January, my wife and I drove from Florida to Nevada for Audrey’s birth. And for our first lesson from Professor Audrey.

Yes, it was a long journey, even for a couple that has spent the better part of twenty years of ministry life on the road. But the destination was worth the journey, for the day after our arrival in Las Vegas, our little princess arrived from heaven.

Yes, she would still be our granddaughter if we had not been present for her birth, but we would have missed so much:

the moment itself;

sharing with each other the moment of becoming grandparents;

sharing this special time with our daughter and son-in-law;

the memorable moments we shared in the days following her birth.

These are heart memories we will carry the rest of our lives and into eternity.

In this most special of journeys, the destination was much more than a place: it was a beautiful little girl, it was family, it was relationships, it was a shared experience in the amazing miracle of new life. And even more, having arrived at this destination, we find it has opened a whole new journey to us!

A thought: I wonder how many destinations we miss because we care not for the journey? I wonder how many new journeys we miss because of missed destinations?

Every time I see Audrey I am so thankful I made the journey to be there for her birth. It was the beginning of a life-long journey that continues today as, all together, we discover new destinations because of the journey we took then.

The destination is worth the journey.

 

2.  Laugh Often

How she loves to laugh, our precious Audrey! How I treasure the joy her laughter brings to me and to everyone around her. Even in public, her “can-you-believe-how-wonderful-life-is” laughter is a literal crowd-stopper. I have watched entire rooms of people stop what they were doing to gather around and watch her laugh, laugh with her, even laugh with perfect strangers at the joy of just one child enjoying life.

There is just something about the joy of a child that connects us not only with that child, but with the child in each of us – with the child of God in us. The laughter of a child breaks through numbing adulthood and connects us again with God.

No, laughter itself is not joy, for many laugh even as they lack joy, this is true. But still, laughter is vitally connected to joy:

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalm 126.2

A child’s mouth, filled with laughter and joy, speaks to nations and to each of us of the Lord, and the great things He has done for us. So “fresh from the heart of God,” so free of the burdens of life and the ways of this broken world, a child calls out to us His name: love, joy, peace, freedom, life.

And in wordless laughter, she offers Him to us.

Léon Bloy wrote, “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” This is true because fundamentally, joy is simply the evidence of a soul enjoying God, our greatest privilege in life, our very reason for being.

Every day, Professor Audrey reminds me that the Lord has done great things for me. And every day she reminds me to do my homework in this subject: from the depths of my soul, let my mouth be filled with laughter, my tongue with shouts of joy.

Feel free to join me in this most joyful of assignments.

 

3.  Play Hard

Audrey has played hard this first year. I mean really hard. She loves playing with her toys, dolls, books, cats – and with the people in her life: you name the game and she’s ready to play. I love that she’s a little daredevil who loves to “fly” with Papi (“Grandpa” in French) around the house. Our little Audrey loves to play! And Papi loves play times with her.

As a pastoral coach, I have long, full days. They begin early and usually do not end until late in the evening. I work hard at what I am privileged to do. But I love the work/ministry I am privileged to do as well as the people with whom I am privileged to do it.

But, like you, if I’m not careful, I can lose touch with life and God when work or ministry is all I do, and play is a thing I forget to do. To live a healthy and holy life, I need to play as hard as I work, be it playing my guitar, swimming, reading for enjoyment, or being with my family.

To be who God created us to be and do what God called us to do, you and I must play as hard as we work.

This is true because play has to do with enjoyment.

If we do it right, enjoying the life God has given us leads us to enjoy the God who enjoys giving us life, life so abundant it is eternal, life so eternal it is abundant today.

And if we do it right, enjoying the life God has given us leads us to glorify the God who has charged us to put our hope in God, “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (I Timothy 6.17).

The Westminster Catechism states, “The chief end of man is to glorify God. And to enjoy Him forever.” John Piper gives it a wonderful tweak, writing: “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”

His ears already tuned to the teaching of children, sixth century Greek philosopher, Heraclitus said it this way:

“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”

For adults, there is always more work awaiting us, always more duties to do. There’s always more “serious” staring us in the face.

But just as important, there is the “work” of learning to enjoy the God of life, and play is a part of the wonderful journey God has given us that leads to that destination.

Professor Audrey is playing hard as 2017 ends and 2018 begins. How about you?

 

4.  Share Your Gifts With Others

Audrey’s first Christmas was a precious experience. The memories we made! Exchanging gifts was especially wonderful, and Audrey led the way. When given a gift, Audrey looked to her mother or the nearest adult to share both the opening and the enjoyment of the gift. She did not want to possess it by herself, but insisted on sharing it. Less than one year old, her joy in her gift was only made complete as she shared it with others.

This is a virtue we preach and practice at Journey Pastoral Coaching. Membership in Journey is more than a regular appointment with the Journey Coach: it includes sharing our gifts and life with others in Journey through regular, prescribed interaction, all as a part of opening and sharing our gifts with each other and sharing the journey of life in ministry.

Journey members are called on to not only receive blessing from the pastoral coach, but to give blessing and minister to other Journey members. I could fill a book with stories about the value that members have added to each other’s lives in these “gift exchanges.” Every month, members tell me how God has used another member to encourage and challenge, to strengthen and to call out, to rejoice in victories and to give comfort in time of loss.

And, as the Bible teaches, those who have invested the most in others have themselves reaped the most. It’s all about seeing our gifts not as treasures to possess, but God’s blessing to share.

It’s a virtue taught us by the One who so loved us that He gave His life on the Cross to save us: share your gifts with others. It’s a virtue that little children like Professor Audrey continue to speak into our lives.

 

5.  Never Lose the Wonder of it All

This is the greatest lesson Audrey taught me this year: never lose the wonder of all that God is giving and doing in our lives.

There is nothing more wonderful than the simple pleasure of watching Audrey experience life. Her eyes shine like diamonds, her face lights up in smiles and laughter! She dances, waving her arms in the air, her hands reaching out, fingers flexing as she tries to take in all the wonderful things of life! At times, her enjoyment so overwhelms her that she just can’t contain it any more and she squeals in delight!

For Audrey, life is the most wonderful buffet and it’s clear she just doesn’t know where to begin in enjoying the good things of God. Every day and every heartbeat of every day is more wonderful than words can express. That’s what Audrey tells me.

People spend fortunes in the endless pursuit of thrills – an adventure, an escapade, a trek, a voyage. And even as they are returning from “the most incredible experience” of their lives, they’re asking, “What’s next? What can I do next that’s even more incredible than this?”

Professor Audrey has the answer. The answer is not found in faraway places or bigger than life adventures. It’s found in the nearness and simplicity of our next heartbeat where the God who created us to know and enjoy Him waits to overwhelm us with the wonder of all He is, the wonder of all that life in Him can be. It’s as simple and true as a baby’s first smile.

In his song, “Celebrate This Heartbeat,” one of my favorite music artists, Randy Stonehill says it this way:

I’m gonna celebrate this heartbeat

Cause it just might be my last

Everyday is a gift from the Lord on high

And they all go by so fast.

So, pastor, missionary, ministry leader, in the busyness of your life, don’t miss a moment! Never lose the wonder of it all.

  

A MAN WHO MISSED AUDREY’S CLASS

Years ago I pastored a man who seemed to live to make life challenging for everyone around him. He had a fierce seriousness about God and life that had strangled him of all joy.

And yet, he was man with as deep a love for his wife as any husband I have ever known. His tenderness with her was deeply touching. One evening I shared this with him, telling him how I hoped I could be like him in loving my wife and family. He lowered his eyes and slowly shook his head. After a moment, he lifted his face again and I could see a deep and terrible grief in his face, a grief that had written itself for years in the lines of his face. He made a quiet confession that shook me then and still shakes me today.

He told me that while he had found it easy to be tender with his wife, he had not been so with his children. Though both, now grown, were nationally recognized in their fields, he took no joy in their success. The fault was not theirs, he said, but his: he had relentlessly driven them at the expense of any real father-child relationship. He said he had pushed them mercilessly until, yes, they had succeeded in their careers, but now one would have little to do with him and the other had suffered a breakdown. Their “success” was hollow and it had come at a terrible price.

He told me, “If I could go back in time, I would be less a taskmaster and more a father: tender, loving, laughing and playing.”

His heart set like stone on the destination, he had lost the joy of the journey;

His soul fixed fast on the law of God, he had lost the joy of the Lord and the soul laughter that knowing Him brings;

His mind focused so hard on all the work to be done for God, he had forgotten how to enjoy God;

His strength strained by the imperfections of people, he had lost the wonder of it all: of the God, of life, and of God’s unfolding story, yes, even in the life of every imperfect person, saint or sinner, who is seeking Him.

 

Before Class Ends . . .

From my childhood, my favorite Christmas TV special has been “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I love it for the characters, the story, the humor, and the art of Charles Schulz. But what I love most about it is its telling of the story of Jesus’ birth.

As told by a child.

But what could be more appropriate than a child telling us of the birth of the baby who was born to die and save us from our sins, giving us eternal life?

And what could be more appropriate than a child telling us about real life in Jesus today?

Not that “adult life” of always serious, always pre-occupied, always burdened, always busy, always stressed, always missing the simple joys of life.

But that “child life” of enjoying the journey, laughter, play, sharing, and wonder?

Thank you, Professor Audrey, for teaching me about life and ministry. Your first year of classes has been amazing. I look forward to the second year and to many more to come.

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19.14

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NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching provides pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.

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