Field Trip

Today I had the pleasure of accompanying my oldest daughter's first grade class on their field trip to Providence, to see a production of Aesop's Fables. I guess "production" is a bit strong of a word, as it was two guys and some homemade puppets. But, that being said, it was well received, as the 800+ kids in the theatre absolutely loved it.

At first, I thought they loved it strictly from an entertainment standpoint. But at a certain moment during the fable of the Sun and the North Wind, I realized they loved it even more from an educational standpoint. Their favorite character in the show was Aesop's dog (aptly maned Moral), who would come out at the end of each fable to drive home the moral of the story. The kids loved shouting out what they thought it was, and then to a kid, talked to each other about what the moral meant.

It was fun to watch that many kids (especially my own daughter) enthusiastically enjoying learning. There was such joy in the process.

How do we, as adults, lose that joy for learning? At what point do we shut ourselves down, and think that we actually know enough? Why is it so hard to convince others, and more importantly ourselves, that we need to continue learning and growing and stretching? What's the cause, and how do we reclaim it?

How does the church become more than a simple social club, and instead, become a joy-filled body of believers, passionate about growing in their faith, each and everyday of life?

No wonder why Jesus loved having kids around.