day no. 15,244: stretch goals

"Stretch Yourself: Note that the prophet stretched himself upon the child. When you consider the size of a man versus a child, one would think it should say, “he made himself shorter or thinner.” He was a full-grown man, and the other a mere lad. Common sense would seem to dictate that he would have shrunk himself, right? But no, he stretched himself. And mark this, no stretching is harder than for a man to stretch himself to become childlike. He’s no fool who can talk to children. A foolish person is much mistaken if he thinks that his mere silliness can interest boys and girls. This task needs our best sense of associating ideas in a new and unexpected manner. It involves our most diligent studies, our most serious thoughts, and our ripest ability to teach our little ones. You will not make the child alive spiritually until you have stretched yourself. While it seems a strange thing, yet it is so. The wisest man will need to exercise all his abilities if he hopes to become a successful teacher of the young" - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour

To communicate complicated truths to simple minds is not a matter of mere engagement or entertainment. It is not the job of the adult to be silly enough to gain an audience with a child. Certainly the adult must not take themselves too seriously in order to speak to a child, but the goal isn't merely to entertain children, but to educate them. 

This requires stretching. You need to stretch before engage children and you to stretch while you're engaging them.  Admittedly, it is much easier to entertain children. Sure, it costs you the time and energy you could have spent pursuing more adult endeavors, but it isn't hard to imagine how to captivate a child with something childish. Anyone can be childish. It's so easy, even children can do it. They don't need your help in that department. They are already better at that than you. They need your leadership to become mature. That is something they cannot do unless someone shows them. But that harder to teach, so many merely opt for shenanigans instead of substance. 

If you are not willing to stretch yourself, you will not see children raised to life. Silliness cannot save, but stretching oneself to reach down to the the lost who live their lives below the 4 foot line does. Stooping requires stretching. It is harder to become small than it is to rise to your full height. 

Do the difficult work for stretching yourself small and you will see your little ones become great hearts.