There is something touching about a newborn child. Children have their own way of relating to the world around them. They were once so "one" with the womb of their mother. They relate to the world around them with that sense of "oneness." It is as if the whole world is their friend.
What it Feels Like to be a Child
You can see it sometimes in the way they play, step through puddles, and seem to trust humans and animals alike. Without hesitation, they would walk up to a dog, a cat or any other animal to pat its shoulder. However, the danger is more real when a child meets a dog in the street. The dog might not be as friendly as expected, and it might give a sharp growl. But children are fearless. They embrace all life around them. They sit down in the most dangerous places. They eat mud and try to catch the sun and the moon. They trust everyone they meet. Jesus must have noticed this attitude. It touched Him. For Him, it was a picture of the ideal world without danger and fear.
Personally, I have particular feelings every time my father calls me by my name. There is a feeling of connectedness, closeness and identity – who I am in relation to him. I am my father's son. This connectedness touches the most profound intimacy between my father and me.
So much more with our relationship with God, by the grace of Baptism, we receive the Spirit who makes us adopted sons and daughters of the Father. He willed to reveal to us the profound meaning of His Fatherly love. He loves us unconditionally.
Humbly Dependent on His Grace
Our intimate connectedness to the Father is a gift that forms our identity as His adopted children. It is also a mutual commitment on our part to live our lives according to His loving will. He only desires what is the utmost good for us. His only will is that we grow into the fullness of our capacities. It also means a complete trust in His fatherly providence. To call Him our "Father" means to be humbly dependent on His loving grace.
This is why He invited us to be like small children to be ready for Him and God's reign among us.
We Believe at Christmas
At Christmas, He presents Himself as a child. He wants to introduce a new world, a period of grace, the paradise children carry in their eyes, hearts, heads, and dreams.
A child-like willingness to be taught, led, and helped by the Savior opens us to this season's grace and power. We will benefit from Christmas in proportion to how willing we are to be rooted in the Lord. Childlikeness consists of the willingness to believe that there is more to see and hear than we have seen and heard.
Let us be like little children who are grounded and rooted in God, and we will know what true beauty and majesty are when He comes.
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