Matthew 19:14
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Matthew 18:3
Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus tells us to have the faith of a child. He wants us to come to him like children.
What does it look like to come as a child??
Children are simple, humble, and trusting. They give love freely, and they are open to learning. They are inquisitive, not afraid of failure, free to play and run and wear socks that don’t match….free to dance. They understand how to give – WAY better than we do. Their prayers knock us on our rear ends sometimes because of how sincere they are.
What amazes me about children is their capacity to understand the things of God that we try to figure out with books and word studies and commentaries and whatever else we use. Their faith is INCREDIBLE, and they don’t need mountains of proof to believe. They just believe. They believe because someone they trust told them. That is all they need. It is amazing to me.
I’ve also noticed that children ask AMAZING questions. Maybe it is because they have so much practice….but their questions are always SO GOOD.
Tonight I was at my friend’s house talking with her 7 year old son. He was telling me all about his new church and he asked me if I would go with him this Sunday. I told him that God told me to attend a different church.
He tilted his head to the side and asked, “How does God talk to you”?? He was genuinely curious. And I was genuinely stumped. I have answered this question countless times, but never to a 7 year old. It never even occurred to me that a 7 year old would ask such a question. (Don’t worry, his mother and grandmother both had amazing answers for him).
The whole incident made me think about the importance of what we teach children. I think we often brush off the questions children ask because we don’t see them as capable of understanding. (or maybe we just don’t know how to answer them) Their questions are so pure, and SO GOOD. Jesus took children seriously…..maybe I should start doing the same.
Kids have a faith in God that is unbelievable. God hears them and can move through that just like he can move through us. We are all just instruments of his glory anyway. Why couldn’t a child do what we can do? What if we taught kids the same things we learned? What if we taught them how to prophesy? What if we taught them that God wants to heal people? What if we taught them how to hear God’s voice? What if we taught them how to chase after the heart of God? What if we taught them that they are powerful and that God can use them to help people? With the faith that kids have….can you imagine what would happen??
Did you know that HALF the world’s population is children under the age of 15? HALF!!!!
:::Question I’m asking myself today:::
How do you explain what you believe about God to a 7 year old?
….I think we should all have inquisitive 7 year olds in our lives…
If you are interested in what I just talked about, you should really check out Jennifer Toledo. All of her messages are amazing, but she has one specifically about empowering and releasing a generation….it’s REALLY good.
