Faith Like a Child

Jesus said, "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 (NIV)

When I first heard this verse as a child I had no clue what it meant. I just thought it was special that Jesus loved the kids too. To be able to see the pictures in the children's Bible of all the little children sitting in the lap of Jesus and all around him on the ground was pretty cool. As the years have passed and I have had a few birthdays since I first heard that verse, it is interesting what Jesus is telling His disciples at this moment.

What is so special about children that we need to be like them? Whenever I acted younger than my age I was always told to stop acting like a child and grow up. But here Jesus is saying to become like a child. I have a feeling that Jesus isn't talking about maturity or in the way we behave. I think He is referring more to our faith. Children have such a solid faith, granted it may not be solid just in Christ. There is the Easter Bunny, the Tooth-fairy, Santa, and who knows what else is out there, but one thing I know is if you try and convince them these things don't exist, there will be a battle! I find myself wondering though, if our children, at such a young age, are able to develop such a hard-core faith, why can I as an adult who's brain, scientifically speaking, is fully developed not have complete and constant faith in God? Jesus knew the type of faith children have. He also knew what type of faith the adults had too. The past couple of days, I have really had to rely on my faith and know that God is in control of all things. But it's hard! At that very moment, it is so much easier to do what we want and what WE feel is best rather than stopping and letting God take over.

The only reason children believe in those things listed above is because they see the results of what they leave behind, the eggs, the money, and the presents. As Christian adults all we see are the results of answered prayers and the way we are constantly blessed, and yet we still struggle with it. Oh, to have the faith of a child!

God Bless you!