COME LIKE A CHILD

Date: Mon Sep 3 02:49:13 2007

'And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.''' (Matthew 18:3)

'Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." (Proverbs 20:11)

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise' ?" (Matthew 21:16, quotation from Psalm 8:2)

"At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.'" (Luke 10:21)

It is oft said that we should not prevent children from coming to Christ. In the book of Luke, the gospel writer notes that people brought BABIES to Christ for his blessing as well as the ambulatory children we often we in the classic painting "Jesus and the Children". Indeed many churches encourage parents to bring their newly born infants to be dedicated to the Lord and prayed for. There are also programs for children, teaching them the gospel of Jesus. While some believe in îdumbing-downî teaching materials for children, showing them childrenís videos and allowing them to answer almost every question with the rotated answers of ìGodî, ìJesusî, or ìThe Bibleî without explaining the correct answers and reasons for them, there are those who are more serious in their teaching, and that is where the true reward is. Children CAN understand significantly more than some folks think.

Being a child is not a badge of ignorance. Mozart wrote concertos at the age of three. Boys of seven or eight can play baseball with imaginary players and comprehend complex rules. In my wifeís Sunday School class, they were studying Adam and a young child volunteered that the reason they knew they were naked was because the light of God had left them. We all remember Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby with their programs showcasing the wit and wisdom of children.

"The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done,'" (Genesis 8:21)

"They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'" (Luke 7:32)

"Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." (Proverbs 20:11)

Yet we know that stubbornness and foolishness are in the heart of a child (Proverbs 22:15), children can be very demanding (Luke 7:32), and we don't have to teach our children to sin (Genesis 8:21). Yet children CAN and in fact MUST come to the Lord to be saved. Many are familiar with the scripture verses that talk about coming to God like a child. They equate that with simple faith. They are not far from the truth. The scripture is not making a suggestion ñ it is an imperative. We MUST come to God like a child. We MUST have a simple faith in God. Simple does not mean ignorant. Simple does not mean naive. Simple means that we believe God, and that we do not let worldly inputs overcome the word of God. We know that we need God and we know that we must come to him.

Children are more aware of their environments than many adults think. Children know good and evil. They detect the character of adults quickly. I know I did in nursery school, and I donít believe I am that unique. Children can put adults and other children into ìgoodî and ìevilî categories. God places in them the innate ability to be able to detect phoniness. We sometimes donít believe that because of child molesters who use enticements to gain the trust of a child, and the child follows them. However, it is not the lack of discernment on the part of the child, it is the weakness of the flesh that causes the inappropriate decision to get closer which is his downfall. This is the same with adults ñ those who play with fire get burned.

You may rightly ask, "So how is coming to Christ like a child any different from simply believing what the Bible says and accepting him into our lives?" It isn't! Children believe the Bible because of the innate witness of God's word. They have not yet been taught to disbelieve.

Older children, teens, and adults are saturated with unbelief and they do not know how to deal with it. They hear teachers and deep-voiced narrators at museums present deeply-flawed evolutionary and secular philosophies as fact, and their confidence in the Bible is mixed. On one hand, they see the changed lives of those who believe, and yet they think they are leaving their brains at the door by accepting the Bible as fact. In order to come to Christ, we need to go back to that primal decision - which is true - the Word of God or the word of men hostile to God? When we come as a child, we put the truth that God witnesses to in our hearts above all else and we reject that which is raised up against God.

Donít get me wrong ñ it is GREAT to have the answers. God tells us not to think like a child or be childish. He wants us to grow while still coming to God with child-like faith. I spend a fair amount of time getting answers for questions I have. I recommend www.answersradio.com which has an obvious anointing in presenting answers to questions which have stumbled people over the years. Yet, there are times when no answer may be in sight. The untimely death of a loved one, a financial emergency, the division of a church we care so much about because of sin or doctrinal disunity can shake even the mature.

You see, we have to come to God like a child not ONLY when we first come, but throughout our lives. We need to have a confidence in WHO God is DESPITE everything around us. If our faith in God is uncomplicated ñ in other words black and white instead of many shades of gray, we will be maintained in a good place in God. The Bible says we must not be double-minded. We have to be singular in our focus. We need to be persistent like the child who asks you for something until you finally give it to him (and children can be extremely persistent). We need to see God as our father. Paul, Peter, and John use the words ìDear Childrenî so often. We must be delighted to be CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH GOD!

Here are some other scriptures to meditate on (and there are many more) - Matthew 18:3-5, 19:13-13, 21:15, 16, Luke 18:15-17, I Corinthians 13:11, 14:20.