by Andre Erasmus

There’s a great 1960s anthem written by Joni Mitchell called ‘Woodstock’ which aims to capture the spirit of that iconic music festival. And one of the best versions of the song is by Crosby, Still, Nash and Young with their trademark harmonies being a highlight. 

The opening line is ‘I came upon a child of God and he was walking along the road’. 

That, in a nutshell, is what we Christians are – children of God walking that long road of life, trying to practise ‘long obedience in the same direction’.  

Matthew 18, as Simon showed us recently, is all about this. 

He spoke about greatness and the question ‘who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ which the disciples asked of Jesus.  

Jesus used an example of a child to show that greatness is not a materialistic thing – as most of us buy into in the modern world – but that, by being child-like, we can be accepted and more accepting of following our Father in heaven. 

We need to put aside our sins of jealousy, one-upmanship and the like, and stop being self-seeking but seek, instead, what God wants for us.  

Simple? Yes, but hard to achieve. 

But through faith this can be done.  

Being ‘reborn’ or ‘born again’ is often bandied about in Christian circles and not everyone is aware of what this really means. 

I think it means throwing away your old and self-centred life and following your Father as a child would – with trust. Believing and receiving what he tells us and not what others try to do. 

It’s hard walking along that road and trying to achieve this in our modern world. Detractions, stumbling blocks and many temptations are there – aimed at making us stray. 

Because I enjoy music, the Hollies’ song ‘He ain’t heavy’ becomes relevant to me here. 

The first lines: ‘The road is long with many a winding turn that leads us who knows where’ enforce that idea of not being led astray. 

And to achieve this, we need support from our Christian family. We cannot do it alone. 

The Hollies continue: ’But I am strong. Strong enough to carry him, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’. 

I find that – through my Christian friends – I am encouraged as they help and support me in this walk. 

Finally, Joni Mitchell’s lyrics end with a chorus that states: ‘We are stardust, we are golden, caught in the devil’s bargain, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden’. 

It is possible she was not referring to Matthew 18 and Jesus’ teaching but I see the warning there of going astray. 

It’s tough trying to be a child of God. But oh so rewarding.