Erasers and Barney the Purple Dinosaur
PC: Britni Conrad
Hardly Worthy
I remember when I was in third grade, my best friend and I would collect unused mechanical pencil erasers. When I’d let my best friend borrow my pencil, I’d remind her to not use the eraser and if she did, I’d know because I’d take it out of the eraser socket and examine it to make sure.
We’d each count up our erasers and grade them to see who had the whitest and greatest number of erasers. How stupid to have to prove my “worth” by how white my eraser was. This world has become a place where you have to prove yourself.
You have to defend why you eat what you do or explain why you’re dating that person. Constantly being bombarded with criticisms and advice puts us on the defense.
It’s exhausting and hard, having to live up to a certain image or act a certain way so you won’t be called out.
I now understand why Jesus told the crowds, “whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Yes, being as a child is the goal because they love so freely and speak with confidence in a way adults have somehow forgotten. Children aren’t afraid to express their love for God, because it shines through them. How perfect was childhood?
I mean come on, how nice was it to wake up and wear what you wanted purely because you wanted to. If you wore a green striped shirt with blue pants, it didn’t matter what anyone thought; all that mattered was wearing your favorite shirt ever!
I’m reminded of the story of a child who was getting a checkup. As the doctor listened to her lungs, she lifted her scope and said, “I hear Santa Clause in there.” The child smiled. The doctor listened to her tummy and said, “I hear the Easter bunny in there.” The child giggled. Then the doctor listened to her heart and said, “Oh is that Barney I hear in there?” The child smiled and said, “No silly, that’s Jesus you hear in there.”
Being a child is innocence which is why Christ wants us to love Him in this manner. True meekness is loving so purely and directly no matter the circumstance, to glorify our Saviour instead of our self.
To be as a child is to be like Christ; and to be like Christ is to be one with God.
Let’s encourage one another to love each other, free of judgement and showing Christ living in us.
Kasondra Reel is a senior studying nursing.