The Way of a Child: The Only Way?

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:2-5)

Why is the faith of a child so important? These statements by Christ (both from the NIV) are startling, and not a little worrisome, especially to us adults. We look at children as less capable than us; unable to manage without us. Part of this may be true, but the fact remains; Christ set the faith of a child as the standard by which we all enter the kingdom of heaven. Children are trusting, dependent, capable of deep love.

My daughter Brit Eaton gave me a great father’s day present this year. I am now reading Ted Dekker’s The Forgotten Way, with study guide by Bill Vanderbush.

Something stood out to me while reading Dekker recently. He was talking about the faith of a child, and how important it is. It dawned on me that when Christ said unless we have the faith of a child we will never enter the kingdom, that may be the only way we are capable of relating to God; like a child does. God is too far above us to try to analyze him, or paint a clear picture, or imagine him, or ever totally understand him. Theological terms that describe attributes of God, like eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, as well as knowledge of the Bible are important, but a child will accept God on the child’s own terms; simple, to the point, trusting, depending on him, believing, etc. Jesus loves us, and that is the name of the game for a child. He expects the same from adults. According to Jesus, this is the only way we will enter the kingdom.

The faith of a child causes them to relate to God differently as well. Recently, my two year old grandson, Dexter, asked if he could pray for the meal. He asked God to bless mommy, daddy, Papa (me), Gram (Carol), and the food. He ended his prayer with “Bye.” Janea and David have prayer with the kids every night and once again Dexter prayed for all of us. This time he ended his prayer with, “Good night.” Jovie was baptized last year. Her pastor talked to her about it, and asked why she wanted to be baptized. Her reply said it all, “Because Jesus wants me to.” Jovie was five at the time. I was drawn to Christ as a child of nine. Carol said she cannot remember a time when she was NOT a Christian. My daughters, Janea and Brit both made their initial commitment to Christ as children. Bella, a couple of years ago, wrote My Big God Story, saying, “God is the life for us.”

Life does get complicated, there is no question about that, and children do need the love, support, and guidance of parents. This is a given in our world. But children relate to Jesus in a simple, straightforward way. That is the way a child does it.

Is there any other way other than the faith of a child? Apparently not, according to Jesus.

Thanks be to God.