“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’ ?”
Matthew 21:14-16

Do this.
Don’t do that.
Read the rules.
Stand up straight.
Comb your hair.
Keep your hands to yourself.
Now sing.
Now sit.
Now pray.
Now be quiet and listen.

Our God is indeed a God of order. He has a set desire for our hearts, minds and lives. He is mindful of justice being done, and does not promote chaos or introduce distractions that would cause His children to take a wayward path. Our Father, on the other hand, is not a stick in the mud, a joy stealer or a cold, heartless, distant, uncaring Scrooge.

When I was a child, I enjoyed sliding down a rail into the foyer at church. It was a nice, wide rail and it was a long staircase. By the time you hit the bottom, you were moving pretty quickly and it demanded a repeat performance. So, I would run back to the top of the stairs and zipped my way back down the rail. And since my parents always seems to be one of the last ones to leave (that’s always the case in a child’s mind, isn’t it?) I enjoyed doing this on a regular basis…unless that one Usher was around.

He always wore a dark suit, and I remember a red tie. He had glasses and a long face, which as a kid, I remember looking very disapprovingly at me whenever he caught me sliding down that rail. Invariably, he would tell me to stop, and that the church wasn’t a playground, or something like that…
Anyway, I always kept an eye out for him when I wanted to slide on that rail at church to kill a few minutes. And while I wasn’t exactly in the midst of worship in those moments, I was definitely being a child.

And Jesus finds these children experiencing true worship on the day of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The children were at church, dancing and singing and chanting praises around Him. They heard the adults getting excited, so they were excited. And they did it in the way that only children seem to be able to do without caring. Adults are fully capable of this, but we are far too sensible to behave in such a way.

Adults, as much as we are supposed to be an example to children in what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ, we have things entirely backwards when it comes to praise. Go into any church on a Sunday morning, find someone who has ‘been in Christ’ for decades and observe their worship. Are they doing it from wrote? Is it part of their routine? Can you see their joy, or is it hidden down deep inside somewhere? Maybe they’re saving it for a special occasion? Or when no one is looking.

Now go to Jr. Church or WeeWorship or whatever that body chooses to call it, and observe the children in worship. Watch how their faces light up, how they have trouble containing the joy that rises up into their hearts, and experience what the phrase ‘reckless abandon’ means again. They are the definition of exuberant, and we could all learn a thing or two from them.

Jesus confronts the Pharisees on this, on their hard hearts, and unwilling ears. He addresses their hearts directly here, and in multiple ways. He was revealing to them, through the praise of children, in accordance to the Scriptures, that this was good behavior. This was pleasing and acceptable to the heart of God. This is the stuff that makes His heart glad, and that whatever you do, don’t interrupt them or tell them they have to stop. Don’t be a grumpy usher or a spiritual kill-joy on their way to Christ. You be the example of exuberance, and show them what it means to be undignified for the sake of your King. After all, whose reputation is more important?

“Love The Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.”
That was the first and greatest commandment. And the Pharisees needed a refresher in this (aside from the fact that they were struggling with what the children were saying. We’ll get to that soon enough.)

The second is like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

If we are supposed to be free in our love, praise and adoration of God, shouldn’t we be just as willing to show love to others? GoLove people in Christ’s Name, and do it with reckless abandon today.