I fell in love this month. He has blond hair, a great smile, chubby cheeks, and is a bubbling 3 years old. We’ll call him Josh. (not pictured) He is all pure child – full of wonder, joy, and curiosity. I found myself wanting to be just like him. What is better than the pure innocence of a child? Who doesn’t want to be happy 24/7 and continually discover the joys of life?
Then I realized, I can have that life. In fact, God does want me to have that life. He wants me to be like a curious and excited child exploring the endless glorious Kingdom of Heaven. So I started w/ my favorite 3 year old, who I was babysitting every day.
I started with just simple observations. I am attempting to strip myself of the cultural, American, and rationalized explanations we’ve added to the Gospel. I want to know the true, simple, undiluted Gospel with the faith of a child – the way Jesus meant for us to understand it.
Disclaimer: This is an ongoing process. I don’t expect to figure it out w/in the next few months or even years. I want to cut off the things I’ve added to the Gospel that are actually stifling my growth and God’s miracles.
Observations I’ve made thus far:
1. If Josh needs something, he runs straight to mommy and daddy and asks with faith that they will give him something good or will fulfill his needs. He doesn’t try to get it himself first. He doesn’t feel shame for being in need. He doesn’t think he’s above asking for help. He asks and has absolute faith that mommy and daddy will give him the best they have.
2. He trusts the decisions mommy and daddy make. He knows w/o a shadow of a doubt that his parents love him and want to give him the best. There’s no question. He doesn’t always understand their wisdom and decision-making, but he trusts them. Sometimes he is upset for a minute or two before he realizes that what mommy and daddy are doing are actually for his good. Then he goes on his merry way.
3. He’s full of curiosity and wonder for the world around him. He doesn’t need a full-blown theological explanation for everything. He just marvels at the beauty and fun of it. If he doesn’t understand something, he still accepts it as true. It’s not thrown out because it doesn’t make sense or because it makes him question what he already “knows.”
4. We hurt our parents when we fight or are undisciplined. I won’t go much into this one, but how often do we fight amongst our denominations and how much self-control do we exercise? I’ve never considered how much I hurt God through these things.
5. Kids have stronger faith than we do. When a child learns they can pray for the sick and they will be healed, a pure doubtless faith arises in them. Even if they don’t see the healing, they know their Daddy is a good Daddy and continue to trust that He will bring healing. It’s not a game of trying to figure out why or why didn’t healing take place.
When we become children, God defines himself. We don’t try to figure him out and define him ourselves. Our faith is stronger. We begin to trust that our Daddy really truly is a good Daddy and wants the best life for all of us because his love is deep and endless. We are more content because we trust his decisions and we enjoy what he brings to us.
I want to be more like a child. I think it may be a difficult transition because I need to get out of my head. I need to stop defining and rationalizing. I need to stop replacing the mysteries and miracles of God with knowledge and big theological explanations. I want to marvel at his work, not analyze it to pieces. I want to experience and swim his love, not write a 500 page dissertation on it.
I’m ready to laugh more. I want to smile more. I want to have a stronger faith. I want to run with the joy and marvel of a 3 year old. Watch out Africa! You have NO idea what’s coming your way!
