truly, i say to you, unless you turn & become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven – matthew 18:3
but when Jesus saw it, he was indignant & said to them, “let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” – mark 10:14
truly, i say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it – luke 18:17
childlike faith. that term has really confused me for awhile. does it mean we’re supposed to be naive & not ask questions about our faith? does it mean we are to blindly believe? i don’t feel like that’s what God asks of us, but then what does it mean?
each of those three verses never calls the faith childlike, rather it says we should have faith like a child to enter & belong to the kingdom of God. not the eternal kingdom of heaven, but the kingdom of God that we are living in. in order to experience & be a part of this here & now kingdom, we must have humility like a child. an article i read said we must “maintain the wonderful & beautiful characteristics & qualities of children that life in this sinful world tends to beat out of us.”
so what does that look like? that’s where my mind has been all month & it took living with 8 boys under the age of 15 to show me what faith like a child looks like.
they are not embarrassed or worried what others think about their faith. they grab the microphone at worship services & sing their hearts out. they march through the streets for hours banging the drum & tambourine rejoicing that the savior has come.
they humble themselves before our Lord. as we pray they get on their hands and knees and bow before God. each morning they wake up between 5-6am to pray & start their days right.
they accredit all their blessings & joys to the Lord. they have all had hard lives, but they trust God & know he has such wonderful plans for their lives.
they are all filled with tenderness, creativity, imagination, wonder & awe, joy, hope, playfulness, trust, undying love, endless energy. they always think the best about those around them & are willing to learn & grow.
this is faith like a child: being willing to stay humble at heart, getting excited for what excites the Lord, breaking for what breaks God’s heart. it does not mean simple minded or lacking wisdom. rather, says the article, “Jesus was ‘childlike’ because he was full of the wonder of life, the hope for humanity, & the beauty of creation.”
this is what i want. i desire to be so full of wonder & awe for our Creator that all i can do is worship him. i can overlook all the discomforts or ways i feel like the world has wronged me & decide each day to wake up with joy & love for what is around me.
so when our plans for the day change for the fifth time & i find myself marching through the streets of india on christmas eve at 11pm chanting christmas carols in telugu, i choose to see this as an opportunity to spread love & joy rather than a time to mope & focus on how tired i am. i get to stand in awe & wonder & celebrate the fact that our God chose to come down to us! who else gets to spend christmas running through the streets of a nation that rejects christianity proclaiming & celebrating the coming of a savior?? what a life we get to live!! thanks india!
as always, thanks for reading.
madeleine
