Recently I had the privilege of serving at a Kids Camp for children ages five through eleven. I love children but at age sixty-four, this was out of my comfort zone and not in my element. My sons are adults; my grandchildren are adults. I was uncertain about my ability to relate to this age group being nearly six decades older than they were. A funny thing happened. The children ended up teaching me!

As adults we oftentimes grow indifferent towards things that bring awe to a child. They are fascinated by things we find common-finding seashells, petting animals, touching fossils and bones-hearing about how God brought all of it into existence. Their wide eyed wonder was refreshing and contagious. When did I lose that complex simplicity of God’s creation and majesty? Familiarity can sometimes replace awe and wonder in our approach to God, especially if you are a longtime believer. His never ending grace and mercy can become so common to us that it almost becomes more of an entitlement than the free gifts we could never earn or deserve. In Revelation, God held against the church in Ephesus that they had lost their first love for him. It had become familiar, taken for granted.

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God would be comprised of those with the pure heart and innocence of blind faith that children possessed. In Matthew 18 the disciples wanted to know who would hold places of honor in his kingdom. He responds by placing a young child in their midst and says, “unless you return to square one and start over like children, you won’t see the Kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again like this child, will rank high in my kingdom.”

As soon as I began engaging with the children at camp, the age gap disappeared. They had me laughing like a kid, dancing like an old man, wearing funny stuff and genuinely looking forward to the next time we would meet. I remembered what it was like to see things for the first time! I recalled when I heard about Daniel in the lion’s den or the three Hebrew children or Jonah being swallowed by the fish for the first time. And I remembered that night in Indianapolis when at age seven I accepted Christ into my life as my Savior-all because of the innocence and enthusiasm of these precious children who were “out of my element.”

When you live on the beach or a retreat in the forest, you forget what it was like when you only visited these areas once per year, and how much you truly anticipated that visit and the dread of having to leave it for another year. Our faith journey should never become this ordinary-the beach and the forest never changes, only our appreciation for them due to familiarity. These camp kids helped to remind me of my first love for God. My body may have ached after three days on their level, but my spirit has been renewed in ways I never anticipated. Thanks kids! See you next year.