Unless you change and become like little children...

One of those profound, defining moments of life happened yesterday.

One of our daughters had done 'something wrong.' She took a chocolate bar from the fundraising box - without paying for it, and despite us saying that each child could only buy one bar from the box (which she already had). When she had eaten it, she was devastated - totally stricken in her conscience. She was feeling so guilty that she actually hid from us (her parents). When we had searched the whole house and still couldn't find her, we were really beginning to be worried (echoes of Adam and Eve in the garden - 'I was afraid and I hid from you'!).
Finally, she surfaced. She was sobbing and shaking with repentance and contrition and fear. We sat with her for a long time, cuddling her, reassuring her, asking her to tell us what she'd done wrong because we wanted to be gracious with her and forgive her. It took her a long time before she could bring herself to confess, to actually say in words what she had done.
The Holy Spirit at work in her brought about such genuine repentance! When she'd finally told me, 'I took a chocolate bar,' and I said ' I forgive you,' and assured her of God's forgiveness, she almost immediately said, 'I'm willing to pay for it out of my pocket money.' She wanted to make restitution.
Later that night, when she was in bed just about to go to sleep, she said that when she finally confessed to us and heard our forgiveness, 'It was like a big load of bricks was lifted off my shoulders.'

Wow. I pray that I may have such a tender, contrite heart, such a broken spirit, such a tender conscience.

'You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.' (Psalm 51:16-17)

'At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?' Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. He said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.' (Matthew 18:1-4)