Embracing the Inner Child
[Jesus said,] "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15)
Our society worships the young. We are expected to avoid aging at all costs. Older people complain that they are invisible within society. They complain that people talk down to them, as if they are childlike or senile. Yet, childhood has its struggles, including being dependent and not being fully mature, physically or emotionally. A child's place in the ancient society of Jesus' time was also paradoxical.
Especially in the Hebrew Bible, children, especially male progeny, were a blessing because they continued the family line and obligated them under the law to care for their parents in their older age. There were no Medicare or Long-term Care facilities. Adult children were a person's only safety net. Yet, children, from infancy through the age of 13, typically considered the age of adulthood, were often viewed as a burden economically and socially. Children were an extension of the family, and any misstep the child made disgraced the family, in the rigid, shame-based culture of 1st-century Palestine.
In the gospel of Mark, the Apostles try to chase the children away from Jesus because they supposedly had little to offer spiritually. Jesus turns this social and religious idea on its head. Only in Mark's gospel does Jesus not only welcome the children, but he also "blesses" them. Through the act of blessing, Jesus recognizes their worth, not based on what they offer to family and society, but as beings made in the image of God.
" Care of the Soul," by psychotherapist and former monk Thomas Moore, informed my faith more than thirty years ago. I still go back regularly to remind myself of the wisdom found within its pages. Moore addresses the child paradox in his book. Moore describes Carl Jung's understanding that "described the child of the soul, the archetypal child, as everything that is abandoned, exposed, vulnerable, and yet divinely powerful." The child finds their power through their vulnerability.
When Jesus embraces and blesses the children, he is also embracing what Moore describes as their "wandering, dislocation, and helplessness." Our society is socially fractured because we want the benefits of childhood, including the potential for a long life, innocence, and good health, while ignoring the reality of childhood's susceptibilities. Yet, when we can fully embrace the child within, there is room for growth and healthy development.
I believe, on some level, Jesus was not only blessing the flesh and blood children over 2,000 years ago, but also each faithful person's inner child. When we are honest with ourselves, we never stop experiencing our "wandering, dislocation, and helplessness." Part of the reason why Jesus publicly teaches the blessing of children is to proclaim the Christian's need to acknowledge their feelings of inadequacy. Our "wandering, dislocation, and helplessness" is not a failure or shortcoming, but a necessary confession of faith, that we need God in this life to conquer our limitations and even death.
Jesus values children because they understand and accept their helplessness and the need to trust a higher power. They look to rely on their earthly parents' power to care for them, and their acceptance allows them to be open to embracing reliance on God. When the parents do not live up to their obligations, or something abuses that trust, the child's soul is fractured. As Moore describes it thusly, "Any move against the archetypal child is a move against soul, because this child is a face of the soul, and whatever aspect of the soul we neglect, becomes a source of suffering." Whether you are 6, 60, or 106, you retain your inner child, and when your inner child is abused, the result is a fractured soul. Healing is possible, but it must be intentional and accompanied by the invitation of the Holy Spirit.
Thomas Moore puts it bluntly when he states, "We are not caring for the soul when we fabricate ways of denying its inferior stations, childhood prominent among them." None of us lives a perfect life and is blessed with an untarnished soul. Our task in this life is to address the inferior aspects within us and to bring courageous honesty to our inner reflections. Only with the supportive wisdom of the Holy Spirit's guidance and nurture can we face the weaknesses and strengths of our inner child and open ourselves to our Triune God's loving embrace and healing.
Our task, as people of faith, is to engage in a dialogue with our inner child and live in the discomfort of vulnerability, because only then can we fully embrace the power of entrusting our lives to the perfect Parent. Begin today, seeking a path forward with God. Try picturing the little child you, holding Jesus' hand, walking, and talking about life. Once you feel comfortable with that image, you can begin to delve deeper and share from your vulnerability, experiencing the power of God inspiring your soul.