“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ~Luke 18:17
We’ve all heard the phrase “faith like a child,” but what does that mean? It’s a phrase found in song lyrics, books, and Sunday school lessons. It’s something people use to silence questions and shut down doubters. Maybe it’s because I have kids that I look at this differently. The traditional understanding of this is that we are to keep things simple and quiet. My five-year-old is certainly not simple or quiet!
What is child-like faith not? Child-like faith is not blindly accepting everything we’re told. The whole notion of “God said it, I believe it, so that settles it” is bogus. I don’t know where that saying originated, but it’s wrong. Faith is not by sight (Hebrews 11:1), but…sight. The Bible is clear that we worship God with our hearts, minds, soul, and strength. Not just our eyes. Sight is not a metaphor for all things physical. Sight is exactly that. If God meant more, He would have said more somewhere in His Word. Faith is believing in more than just what our eyes can see. Faith means being free to use our minds. God uses His mind, and as we are made in His image, we are to use our minds too. That’s part of the beauty of humanity. God gave us brains to think and to analyze the world around us. The Bible is the primary way God communicates with us, but within that, He meant for His creation to discuss it and fully comprehend it. He never meant for us to take a few words out of context, put His stamp of approval on it, and then declare it settled. Nothing about that is “child-like faith.”
So what is faith like a child?
First, we need to approach our faith in Jesus without complexity. Salvation is based on faith in Jesus Christ alone. Plus nothing. Children explore the world without preconceived ideas. And they stand in awe. A pile of dirt might become a fort, or a sky filled with clouds might look like a field of dinosaurs. Adults look at that and think about messes or impatient traffic. Children are free to use their imaginations to solve problems. Adults look at the instruction manual. We use our minds to think, but keeping things simple means being careful what we place as our authority. Are we looking to celebrities and following their every move? Or are we looking to God’s Word and listening to who have walked with Him longer than we have?
As we simplify who we are looking to for authority, we look at it from the perspective of adults. The older we get, the more options we have. How many authorities does a preschooler have? Two: mom and dad. Once they start school, whomever their teacher is gets added to the mix. But mom and dad are still the top authorities until that child is grown. If we are to have child-like faith, who is our top authority? It’s not your spouse, your small group leader, or even your pastor. Those people may help point you to your authority, but God alone is the One we answer to.
Second, I’ve heard it said that child-like faith means not asking questions. Have you ever encountered a five-year-old who doesn’t ask questions? In all my years of teaching, I’ve seen that there’s something wrong is wrong when a child doesn’t ask “why” about everything. Children are curious!
Doubting is a form of asking questions. Everyone doubts at times. But in that doubt, where are you looking for answers? Jesus says that if we seek God, we will find Him. Let your questions lead to God. He knows your questions, and in His infinite wisdom, He knows where to lead you for answers.
Third, children speak their minds. We’ve all heard stories of kindergarteners who walk up to people and ask why they’re fat. And we cringe. Maturity leads to tact. We know when to speak and when to hold our tongues. Hopefully anyway. Kids don’t do that. They haven’t learned that filter yet.
We find comfort in the psalms because King David, who wrote most of them, wrote a lot about human emotion and how he handled life. Have you ever noticed though just how raw those words are? The psalms have been used for both songs and prayers. We often use the words of the psalms in prayer because we’re not courageous enough to say our own similar words. God can handle it. He made us, He already knows what’s on our minds, and He wants us to have honest conversation with Him. It’s okay to tell Him you are mad or feeling lost. He intentionally gave each of us those emotions when He designed us. But as our Creator, He is the only one who can lead us back. Wouldn’t it be better to take those emotions to Him, even if our words are not “politically correct,” and let Him lead us into comfort and peace? He wants our hearts, not our polished, edited words.
That’s faith like a child: be intentional with who we look to for authority, ask questions, and speak our minds. That’s the kind of faith we’re supposed to seek.