In the movie, Hook, Peter Pan is first seen as an overworked adult, who is very focused on the responsibilities of his busy life. He has no memory of Never Never Land, where he once lived a life of blissful freedom as the boy who never grew up.
At one poignant moment in the film, the now elderly Wendy, looks at Peter and asks the classic question, “Peter, have you forgotten who you are?”
Earthly childhood is still within memory of the womb and the place from which we came. By adulthood, many of us have forgotten who we once were. But inside all of us, hidden away, is the memory of who we were and who we still are. Can we find our way home?
Jesus had much to say about children. As a matter of fact, He tells us we must become like little children to even get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let the little children come unto Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:4
Unless you change and become like little children,you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 18:3
We are children … of God!
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s Children! Romans 8:16
Perhaps when we are our most frazzled adults, God is looking at us in wonder, and asking the same question Wendy asked of Peter, “Have you forgotten who you are?”
What lessons did we learn in childhood?
We learned to trust our parents to supply all our needs.
We learned to look to our parents to feed us.
We did not worry about our life.
We craved being close to our parents. Still remembering the time when we were snuggled up close to our mother’s heart, we longed to go there again. God mercifully provided from the beginning. The nursing baby is positioned with his ear close to his mother’s heart.
At first, we depended upon sight to be assured our parents were there. When they were out of sight, we felt panic. However, as we got older, we learned to live without them in physical sight. We remembered their voices and the lessons they taught. And we knew they would be back soon and we would see them.
We felt joy in living! It didn’t take sophisticated devices to amuse us. We were never bored. We could find delight in playing with a box or jumping up and down. We explored and looked at the world with wonder and squealing delight!
We slept when we were tired. We didn’t need sleeping pills.
We didn’t hold grudges. We lived in the wonderful Present. It was always today. We had no regrets. We didn’t worry about tomorrow.
We believed what we were told by our parents. We saw them as the source of knowledge. We did not need to seek out other opinions.
We obeyed. We learned to do what our parents asked us to do. We didn’t always understand it, but we came to understand it was necessary to obey. It was those boundaries that kept us safe.
Would you like to go back to that world again? You can! Stay tuned for the road map back home. You are not headed for Never Never Land. You are headed for Forever, Forever Land!
