Childlike faith is commendable.
But there are dangers when we are trustful and naïve like a child.
When it
comes to appreciating spiritual truths, intellectuals have no advantage over
anyone with childlike faith. Having the intellectual prowess of the likes of
Bertrand Russell or Stephen Hawking is futile. It cannot bring anyone any
closer to a state of personal intimacy with God. To touch God we merely need to
believe that
Jesus died for our sins and let Him take charge of our lives. *
Jesus
said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
The
disciples rebuked the people when the latter brought children to Jesus that He
might touch them. But Jesus was indignant and said, “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 (Mark 10:13-16).
When
we seek God, we are to be like little children. We need humility and an
attitude of dependency. If we are proud of the fact we know a lot, we will fail
to appreciate the many blessings, promises and revelations that God has
prepared for us.
Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children" (Matthew 11:25).
Being
childlike implies a lack of corruption. We start off in life with a “clean
slate” and along the way we get corrupted by the world, bad company and our
flesh. Adam and Eve lost their innocence after they sinned in the Garden of
Eden. And we inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Ideally, we should maintain our
childlike innocence even as we mature: “Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature” (1
Corinthians 14:20b). But, of course, this is easier said than done. **
Having touched on the virtues of being childlike, let’s now move on to examine what childlikeness should not be like:
Firstly, being
childlike does not mean we should be naïve—not
aware of the potential dangers or pitfalls that might happen to us. Murphy’s Law states that
“if anything can go wrong, it will”. To think that everything in life will turn
out well so we do not need any backup or contingency plan is being naïve, to
say the least. Doesn’t God make the sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45)?
“A prudent person foresees danger and takes
precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the
consequences” (Proverbs 22:3). This axiom may be true of a breadwinner
who needs to buy disability or life insurance to provide for his family’s needs in
case he is disabled or he is no longer around, respectively. Or it may mean planning, saving and investing—starting from the early phase of working life—in
order to build a retirement nest egg. People who fail to be proactive may suffer the consequences later in life. As they say, “People don’t plan to fail. They only fail to plan.”
Secondly, being childlike does not mean we become so trustful
that we fail to be vigilant against deception. The apostle Paul declared that we have
to be vigilant so that we are
not outwitted by Satan (2 Corinthians 2:11). The apostle Peter cautioned us to
be alert and sober as Satan, the roaring lion, is prowling around waiting to
devour us (1 Peter 5:8). Only those who are mature—those who have outgrown their
childishness—won’t fall prey to the devil’s devices. ***
Believers
need to progressively grow towards maturity. If we choose to remain like little
children, despite having clocked many years in the faith, this sad commentary
might become true:
“In fact, though by
this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the
elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,
is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for
the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil”
(Hebrews 5:12-14).
Being childlike has both positive and
negative connotations. We should have childlike faith, innocence and purity. But
we should not be
naïve like a child but be vigilant against the wiles of Satan and prepare ourselves for
various contingencies. We must
Childlikeness is a virtue to be cherished and
appreciated. However, we need to progressively mature in our journey of faith—and
grow out of our childish ways.
RELATED POSTS:
* SCIENCE AND FAITH
Man cannot know God through the rational process—no matter how great his
intellect. Faith, the means by which man comes to know God, is not
against reason; it transcends reason. Reason
may help to build faith but it (reason) can never ultimately bring a person to
know God.
** MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES
How do we overcome evil in our lives? By
choosing to ‘walk by the Spirit’, we will
not gratify the desires of the flesh. What are some of the practical steps
involved?
*** DEADLY
DECEPTION
Be
aware, be warned. It’s already here. We should wise up by preparing ourselves
against deception. Jesus warned that deception will be a prominent feature
during these end times.
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