In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”

Today’s verse (Luke 10:21) follows immediately on the heels of last week Wednesday’s reading. In fact, the phrase “In that same hour” refers to the return of Jesus’ 72 followers who were sent out. Here we have the Trinity in one phrase: “he [Jesus] rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father.‘” And what does Jesus thank the Father for? For revealing so many spiritual truths to children that are hidden from the wise.

We adults like to think we’ve got it all figured out, don’t we? We spend time studying the Scriptures and plucking little grains of wisdom from them, analyzing details that boggle the mind at times. And then a child comes up and says, “Jesus loves you.” At the end of the day, all of the other details don’t matter. Faith like a child? Yes, please! The children at our school spend each day learning about Jesus, and can often share their faith in ways that amaze and humble me. They’ve learned songs and prayers and the Apostles’ Creed and can tell you that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. They get it.

When I teach Sunday School, I discover the same thing. Children hear the Word of God and just accept it at face value, without needing footnotes or studying the original languages and dissecting the meaning from the Word. Yes, those things can be helpful for study, but for faith formation, it’s all about simply hearing the Word, receiving it. God has written us a love letter, and we need to read it as that just as much or more than we read it for information and learning.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.