‘At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “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.’
When I consider what quality makes a child so childlike, I cannot help but think of trust.
If an infant has developed a sufficient bond with their caregivers, they will inevitably trust those individuals, often implicitly.
If you tell them you are driving them to the supermarket, they will trust that that is where they will be upon arrival.
If you tell them they are going to school – that is where they will expect to be.
They do not doubt, question or query the journey, they simply sit in their car seat until the journey is over and they entrust the driving and the destination to their caregiver.
There is another word for this kind of relationship and trust – innocence.
The child has no reason to expect anything other than what you have told them because – hopefully – they have never had their trust betrayed by the one making the promises.
How much more can we as adults trust our Heavenly Father who is perfect and who does not know how to let us down? His track record is impeccable and so why do we squirm and shift in our journey with the Lord through life? Why don’t we trust Him to deliver us to our destinations along the way?
I believe our level of trust in the Father is directly linked to the quality of the relationship that we have with Him.
If we neglect daily time with the Lord, building upon our relationship with Him, we will soon feel the distance. That distance can often lead us into doubt, fear and distrust which is the exact opposite posture that the scriptures encourage us to have when dealing with our Heavenly Father.
Committing to spend time with God, in scripture reading, prayer and worship, can help us remain calibrated to the level of faith and trust that we all need and should have.
Try not to complicate it. Simply see your time with God as you would with anyone else you have a relationship with – time to build upon the already existing state of the connection and develop it.
I was babysitting for a friend’s three children once and the youngest was having trouble settling without their mother. I brought her out into the lounge where I was watching worship videos and we sat and watched some worship videos together.
I paused for a moment during one of the videos and asked the little girl I was looking after – “do you know Jesus?” She looked at me carefully then patted her chest where her heart is and nodded.
This powerful moment of recognition of faith marked me.
Even at the age of three and a half this little girl knew her Saviour.
Jesus, when asked why He has wandered off and gotten lost during a journey back from The Festival of the Passover in Jerusalem, simply replied with, “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
Simple. Uncomplicated. Faith.
Friends, let’s approach the Father with this same level of knowing and faith – innocent faith like a child. Let’s believe that He loves us deeply and can look after us, leading us through our journey of life with delicate care and precision.
‘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)
