Having Child-Like Faith

The Bible is full of “famous” passages, the most notable of which is probably John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” There are many other passages that bring up strong memories. Even those who were not raised in a church are familiar with stories such as the Good Samaritan, Noah’s Ark, and David and Goliath. For others, there are stories and passages that are nearly as famous but aren’t as well known outside the church as they are in it. I read one of these stories this past week, and as I read the passage and some commentaries on it, I saw the passage in a whole new way.

This week, I was reading Luke 18 verses 15 through 17 and in this passage, Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission of defeating death. Along the way parents are bringing their children to Jesus and asking for Him to bless them but the disciples rebuke the parents for bothering Him. Verses 16 and 17 give us Jesus’ famous response where he tells the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Now, I have read and heard this passage, and the one that is very similar in its message in Matthew 18, but I am not sure that I fully understood it.

You see, as a father, I am constantly looking at and evaluating my children and their behavior. I am blessed to be a father to four amazing boys, that’s right, our house is in constant chaos. Jenny and I work diligently to try to raise our boys to be polite, respectful, hardworking, and disciplined, but we often feel like it’s only messes, arguing, yelling, hitting, and more. Chores are a form of imprisonment, screen time is unfairly distributed, and the living room doubles as a trash bin, all resulting in frustration and feelings of parental shortcomings. This has traditionally been a source of unnecessary yelling, anger, and the driving wedge of relational withdrawal between not only us as parents and the kids, and even to a degree, between us as parents. With that said though, God in His infinite wisdom has another way.

In my walk with Jesus to revive our relationship, He has been working on my heart and mind as a father. He has frequently and lovingly shown me different ways of thinking of my kids’ behavior. On one instance, He reminded me that kids have certain behavioral tendencies at each stage of development on purpose. These tendencies are not intended to drive us parents crazy, though sometimes they do, but they are for the child to grow developmentally to become who they were created to be in order to fulfill the purpose they were created to fulfill. This passage was another one of those times where my Heavenly Father wanted to speak to me as His child.

Children, especially when they are infants, are wholly and completely dependent on their parents. As they grow into their time as a toddler and begin to walk and talk, they gain the ability to communicate their needs, but remain nearly entirely dependent on their parents for all aspects of their lives. Mom and Dad provide food and drinks, clothing and a place to sleep safely, as well as opportunities to play and learn. In all things, good or bad, the child is ultimately subject to the will of their parents. Again, as a toddler, that child can now express their wants and desires to their parents. They may request drinks, attention, or express disapproval of being fed green veggies.

This is where I see the deeper meaning of this passage coming to light. You see, our Father wants us to seek Him, just like our toddlers seek us, for everything in life. He provides our food and drink, our shelter and clothing; even the purpose for our existence is from Him. When we have desires and worries, requests and praises, in good moments and bad ones, God wants us to bring those to Him. Not only does He want to hear from His children but He desires to fulfill our prayers and to help us when and where we have need, just as I want to do for my boys. In addition, Jesus says that we have to receive the Kingdom as if we were a small child, or we risk not being able to enter. He is calling us to the same level of dependence upon our Heavenly Father that our little ones have for us; we must be entirely dependent on God’s provision.

With as many times as I had either read or heard this passage, it seems hard to believe that I had never understood this meaning. In fact, I am not all that sure I really ever understood it at all. I truly believe that by spending substantially more time pursuing a relationship with Jesus, and coupling that with intentional study of His living word, that He has blessed me by opening my eyes and allowing me to understand His messages, similarly to how the disciples were able to understand Jesus’ parables (Matthew 13:11). By keeping this lesson close to the forefront of my mind, I am graciously reminded to seek the provisions of my Father, not worry or be anxious about how my needs will be fulfilled, and to constantly communicate with Him. This is because, like the best father that we can’t even imagine, we have a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to sacrifice His son for us, and he will meet my every need.

I pray that in this New Year, you can take a look at your relationship with our Father and ask yourself if you are looking to Him like a Father having child-like faith. Like someone that will help you whenever you need it. Who will give you guidance, discipline, forgiveness and the desires of your heart wherever it is needed.