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Faith, Like unto a Child
Faith, Like unto a Child
By Davide Galelli
This is what the Lord said regarding children and the things he said were important for us to know:
Mark 10:13-16:
“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”
Matthew 18:3:
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Here we have the Lord explaining to the listeners that unless you become like a child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The trait of children is that they should be obedient to their parents. Children always keep an open mind to the wonders of God and sometimes find it easier to understand things than an adult.
The gospel message is simple, however, sometimes as adults we love to complicate the message with the things of this world and incorporate our own adaptation on what we think. This is not needed as the Lord’s Word means what it says and says what it means. Children show the strongest of faith at such a young age, when they have not seen or experienced much in life. They are headstrong in what they believe even if they can’t see it, always trusting.
I personally feel that when the Lord was speaking to the people that He wanted them to understand and take in the qualities of children. The principle of how children should be obedient to their humanly fathers is something we all know. With this same principle, we should be obedient to our heavenly Father who is in heaven. I want to break down the traits of a child and show why the imagery of a child is perfect to the Lord and that is exactly what He requires from us.
As children, we are to respect our fathers and mothers from when we are born to the day that we die. When a child is at the parent’s home the responsibility is on the father to direct the child to a good way of living. Teaching the child right and wrong is the most important thing as a parent, as the child can be affected by our teaching and actions. When the child rebels, it is important for us as parents (like the Lord) to discipline us and set ground rules for us to follow. Sometimes as children we do not know or understand the reasons for why these rules are in place, or we wrestle with the situation to try to understand why our parents would do these “strict” and “unfair” things to us.
Take for instance when a boy plays computer games. When it comes to the time the child must go to bed, the child argues why can’t he just stay up and play as much as he wants and go to bed when he wants. What’s the big problem… he’s not hurting anyone, right?
Well the father knows that playing too much computer is wrong for him and will hurt his eyes. He also knows that staying up really late takes a toll on the body and will disrupt a good sleep pattern. The child’s argument could be, “Well you can do what you want as a parent so why can’t I?” What the child doesn’t understand is that while he lives under the parent’s roof, he is their child, and lives by the rules set out by the parents, like it or not.
The parents are the masters of the house, paying all the bills and in charge of the children, and must guide them on the right path. As a child, life can be frustrating as the benefits of being disciplined and having rules are for the child’s own benefit, but are not understood. As adults we are just like kids and can’t see the love and benefits of why the Lord tells us to obey. The thing is, a lot of adults forget, that we too are children to Christ and we share these very same traits.
As children of the Lord, our Father is Jesus Christ. We live in his domain and He is in charge of everything as our Father. His responsibilities are to keep us on the straight and narrow, to bring us up properly and to discipline us if need be. As adults we love to criticize children for being rebellious in nature and not conforming to the rules we have set out, but in fact we are ten times worse than a child—as we have a better understanding things and a more advanced moral compass. A child will rebel about taking a bath or going to sleep. We rebel in a much more serious and damaging way. In life, men have always questioned the commandments that were set out by god, always trying to pick flaws in the reasons why commandments or laws have been set out for us.
It seems that many people are interested in proving the Word of God to be wrong. Like a disobedient child, some humans cannot understand the reasons for the rules and sometimes get frustrated. There is a reason for every law that was set and though men may not see it, the Lord knows it’s in our best interest. If mankind looked at why the commandments were put in place without a selfish and sinful heart, he would see that it benefits us to keep the commandments. At the time it may convict Man of what he shouldn’t be doing so he will argue and bend the rules to fit his own selfish goal. This is not good at all, like a child we must obey our Father in heaven and keep the rules of his house.
There will come a day when we, like children, will grow up into the fullness of Christ and tell our Father, “Thank you for helping me, for disciplining me and giving me rules to make me a better person.”
It is important to come to the Lord as a child, because the traits of a child are perfect for accepting the gospel. A child does not care for the things of this world such as houses, money, cars and jobs. With such worldly things comes a burden that blinds an adult from what really matters—which is our faith and love for Christ. A child does have any interest in adultery, fornication, murder etc… as they have no experience or understanding of these things that we learn as teens/adults. A child is true in faith, especially when it comes to the Bible. Some children believe in things like the tooth fairy, Santa etc, with no proof for their eyes but yet they listen with open ears. They come with willing ears and are interested in what the parent tells the child. He or she will believe because it trusts and loves the parents. Such a trait is Bible basic for us as faith is the most important thing to God.
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:28).
Obviously Santa and the tooth fairy are fables but it’s beautiful to see a child believe in something and not yet have any proof in what they believe.
Fortunately as adults, we have the Bible; Scriptures of prophecy and the testaments of the prophets/disciples for proof. However even with this, it’s still not enough for some to fully believe in the Word of God. Humans see prophecy after prophecy unfold before them but their eyes are covered by their own lusts, desires and complications in life that they cannot see what is happening right in front of them. Yes, we are truly living in the last days but it seems many in the world don’t care or want to listen.
If we want to show faith like a child we have to strip back to the basics when understanding and living by the Word of God. We have to believe in the Lord with all our heart. Throw away the worldly problems and complications of an adult life and concentrate on the small things that really matter like loving your family, loving your God and being happy. Not worrying when you shall eat or what you shall wear, does a child worry what it shall eat or what it shall wear? No, because the parent will always cloth a child and will feed it when it needs feeding and a child knows this. Just as Jesus compares the birds of the air and the flowers in the ground, the Lord will look after his children and will satisfy their needs just like a mother does for her baby. Therefore we should not worry about burdensome things like an adult but be like a child and let the lord look after our every need.
Yes, it is fair to say if anyone can stand before God blameless, it is a child. So we must come to the Lord as a child, which has not experienced the sins of this world as an adult has. Because of the nature of sin, it is hard for Man to come before God with open ears and accept the good news. For to accept the good news, we first need to accept the bad news…that we are hopeless without the forgiveness of Christ. Man thinks he knows best and he really doesn’t. Our Father in heaven knows best. Pride and selfish lusts will blind us from the simple pure message of the gospel. So friends and brothers come to Christ as a child without the burdens of being an adult and enjoy the simple relationship as a child does with his father.
Fathers, try your best to keep your children on the narrow path of redemption as the Lord speaks strongly about people corrupting children in the ways of sin in this world. Seek God with blind loving faith, being thankful for the small things and anything else is a plus. This to me is the key to being a good Christian. Faith first, be as wise as a serpent but as blameless as a child (lamb). Keep away from the harmful things we have experienced as adults and enjoy the simple life of a child in Christ.
Under the law it is impossible for us to fulfil the requirements of the law, thus we are condemned by it. Over the years, sin and time will shape our children growing up as they hopelessly come of age, to where without Christ they come under the law and therefore are condemned. So let’s be thankful to God that our heavenly Father’s Son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our sins as believers—so that we can spiritually live like eternal children, found faultless before Yahweh without sin.
Closing Bible passages for thought:
Matthew 18:2-6:
“He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Mark 10:13-16:
“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”
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I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
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