What God Tells Me About the Boy Who Remains
📅 September 16, 2025
📖 “And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” — Matthew 18:3
Reflection
When the men’s group asked about our 12-year-old selves, I answered with three words: “I’m still here.” But there’s more to that simplicity. The boy inside us isn’t just a memory. He’s like a kid sitting in a protected control room, watching life through a bank of screens. Think of it like a starship bridge: our eyes become cameras, the child watches what happens, and the ship takes the blows. He sees the broken bones, the sweat, the heat, but he doesn’t always feel them. He witnesses, protected, alive in a cockpit that shields him from the worst of what it means to grow up.
That picture explains a lot. The child who remains doesn’t get flattened by the world; he observes from behind glass. He remembers the jokes with old friends, the moments of wonder, the way the world looked before calluses formed. He still laughs at the same things. He still hopes the same simple hopes. Sometimes we feel like children operating a grown body. A small, curious voice inside a larger frame trying to make sense of how we got here.
We miss what was lost, and we carry the ache of things that can’t be retrieved. Yet God’s mercy is that He doesn’t ask us to kill that boy or girl. He asks us to honor them, to let their curiosity, their quick laugh, their uncluttered hope teach the adults we’ve become. The control room isn’t cowardice; it was survival. Now, as men and women, we can carry that child forward and let them help us live with humility, joy, and honesty.
And perhaps this child within us is also a glimpse of eternity. Our bodies may grow old, but our souls remain children. We may die at an old human age, but before God we will always be His kids. Forever young in His presence, forever welcomed as children into His arms.
At the same time, we must admit how little we truly know. Paul’s words remind us: “Now we know in part; then we shall know fully.” The child who remains is also a reminder that we are small, that our knowledge is limited, that we are meant to trust our Father rather than claim mastery of truth. One day, we will see face to face. Until then, we carry the child within, not as weakness, but as faith.
Scripture
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” — 1 Corinthians 13:11
“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12
“But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” — Matthew 19:14
Leadership Principle
The child who remains is a compass, not a liability. Leaders who honor that child lead with authenticity — curiosity when others assume cynicism, laughter when others brace for seriousness, and humility that admits we do not know all truth. To lead well is to carry both — the adult’s strength and the child’s trust.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the child who remains in us. Teach us to honor them, not bury them. Let their laughter soften our work, their curiosity fuel our growth, and their humility keep us dependent on You. Guard us from pride, remind us that we know only in part, and anchor us in the truth that we will always be Your children. Amen.
Father’s Blessing
To my children: keep the boy or girl inside you close. That child is eternal, unaged, unashamed, unbroken by the years. We may grow old in body, but before God we will always be His children. Carry that truth with humility: we know so little now, but one day we will see fully. Until then, laugh freely, love deeply, and trust completely, as only a child can.
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