One day some cute kids broke up Jesus’ party. He had been doing serious teaching and had been telling all sorts of stories about what it meant to enter the Kingdom of God and follow Him. No one was really “getting it,” but everyone was enjoying themselves and listening hard.

They were straining to understand and reveling in their proximity to such a profound teacher. They were still thinking that the first thing was to be really wise and serious and to be able to pat themselves on the back for their spiritual discernment.

They were having a piety party.

Then some irresponsible parents lost complete control of their kids and they started climbing all over Jesus, distracting Him, giggling, and wanting to play.

The disciples knew what to do. This was serious business. These kids were breaking up the piety party. So they intervened.

Then, Jesus did something unexpected. He rebuked the wrong people. "Don't stop them! Let them come to me!" Jesus demanded, "This is what my Kingdom is all about. They are what constitute the Kingdom of God. If you want to be part of my Kingdom, you must become like them!"

They are what the party is all about. It’s not a piety part or a pity party or even a pretty party. It’s a preschool party!

FIRST – The very first thing you need to know is this: Cute Kids Are the Core of the Kingdom!

Yes, they are cute, but they are also CORE.

Yes, they are kids, but they are also KINGDOM kids.

They are CUTE because they are:

• Cuddly
• Unpolluted
• Tempestuous
• Energetic

They are CORE because of some qualities that they alone can teach us, which reside in us in some sort of repressed state waiting be released by grace. They are:

• Curious about the mysteries of life, including the vast and wonderful mysteries of God.
• Open to what is fresh, new, awesome, and undiscovered – open to God.
• Responsive to God's love, grace, and "tickles," whereby He directs us into new adventures and calls us to grow beyond who and what we are now.
• Energized by expectancy and expressive of the love and wonder that they experience as they discover God in new ways.

This is the stuff of the kingdom, the cute part and the core part. Our calling is to live on tiptoe, to welcome interruptions, and to go with God's flow. If that means that we sometimes feel out of control and off-course, so be it. It comes with the call and it calls forth the kid in all of us.