Childlike Faith

What can you learn from your child today?

As I walked through the door of my son’s first day of mommy and me class I could feel his little fist tighten around my shirt. He immediately nuzzled his head into my shoulder and tried to become invisible. I cheerfully introduced myself to the teacher and other moms while giving my son a few back rubs. “Ok sweetie, I’m going to put you down now so we can go say hi to the other children”. The sobs immediately begin and he hangs on to my leg for dear life. I pick him up again and walk over to the play kitchen and sit down at the table. “Do you want to help me make some food”? He looks at me with surprise almost as if to say “you mean you’re going to stay and play”? “You’re not leaving me here”?  We start playing and within minutes, this mommy and me class is the best thing ever! I eventually slink off to the back to watch him play and interact with the other children. He is as happy as a clam and every now and then looks back at me and smiles. Everything changed for him when he learned that I wasn’t going anywhere. He trusted me and therefore felt happy and at ease. It was as easy as that.

What if we approached each day with this same level of faith and trust? Can it be as easy for us mommas as it is for our children? God says it can and should. In Mark 10:14 Jesus tells his disciples and the crowd around him “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”. In this verse Jesus is saying that our faith in God needs to be like a child’s faith. A child’s faith is pure, trusting, innocent and easy. Children believe anything we as parents say because they trust us. They do not understand the complexities of this world and therefore do not know how to doubt. All children need to feel secure is the person that has taken care of all of their needs, loves them, and makes them feel complete…..their momma.

This is how God wants our faith in Him to be. He wants us to have faith in Him because we know that He loves us, forgiveness us, and because we trust Him. All my son needed to feel secure in a new and scary situation was to know that I was there. He did not have any more knowledge, abilities, or power that made him feel more secure, he just had me. Likewise, if we are facing a new and difficult situation we don’t need any more worry, stress, and sleepless nights….what we need is more childlike faith. 

How would our days be different if we had childlike faith instead of adult faith? 

Father God. Bless our sweet little children who teach us what it means to have childlike faith. Help us guide our children as they learn to trust You and have faith in You. Thank you for always being our hope and strength and for providing for all of our needs. We love you, Amen.