Jesus and Children

The biggest difference between Jesus and Paul is that Jesus loves children while Paul doesn’t.

I wrote my book, The Zen Teachings of Jesus, in the early 90s. Very often, my Christian friends would challenge me. “Jesus is a Jew,” they said, “how can you connect Jesus with Zen and Taoism?” Yes, that looks like a stretch.

But I did find a solid connection. Lao Tzu said, “The one who is filled by virtue is like a newborn baby.”(Tao Te Ching, Chapter 55) He also said, “Being the valley of the world, eternal virtue will never desert you, and you become like a little child anew.”(Chapter 28) Similarly, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 18: 3) Jesus also 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)

So, Jesus likes the company of children. Can you imagine being with little children and maintaining a long face? I can just see Jesus playing with little children, making funny faces to make them laugh. I can’t even imagine what Paul would be like when little children come to him. Didn’t he call himself a “wretched man”?

The art of living has much to do with reconnecting with your inner child, and restoring the wonder and joy of seeing the world through a…