May 2020 Articles

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Spiritual Corner: Like a Child

Spiritual Corner: Like a Child
There have been many days, recently, where I will watch my son, Rebel, play in his crib. He was 3 months old on April 29th and he is growing and learning so much, so fast. He loves his farm animal mobile that hangs above him in his crib. Whenever I wind it up so that it will play music, his little face lights up with the biggest smile and he will usually squeal with excitement and begin to kick and wiggle his arms. As he watches the farm animals spin above his head and listens to the sweet melody of music, he will occasionally glance up at me and flash me the most precious smile. His smile turns my heart into a sloppy, mushy, gushy mess. All I can think about is how sweet he is, how innocent he is, and how he is pure and unscathed by the world. As I observe my baby boy, I am reminded of the scriptures where God commands us to become like a child. In Matthew 18:3 and 4 Jesus says, “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”. Why does he want us to be like a child? It’s a common thought that, as adults, we are smarter, wiser, stronger, and the list goes on. From my experiences with Rebel, here is why I think God wants us to be like a child. First of all, a child is innocent and pure. Until their age of accountability, children are sinless. They don’t know right from wrong as little babies and they don’t have mean thoughts running through their heads. They are pure, little souls, waiting for us to help mold them and guide them into who they will grow to be. This makes our responsibility as parents so important – we want to always make sure that we are pointing our sweet children toward God. God wants us to be like a little child, because He wants us to, once again, be pure and innocent. We can be, thanks to the blood of Christ, but it’s a daily act of laying our sins at Jesus’ feet and walking through the day, striving to live a pure life, like that of a child. The second reason I believe God wants us to become like a little child is because of how deeply children trust. I may not always get Rebel’s bottle ready at the exact moment that he wants it, but he trusts that I am going to feed him and take care of him. He believes that I will change his dirty diapers, feed him when he’s hungry, give him a place to sleep, soothe him when he’s crying and so on. Even as babies get a little older and become little children, they are still so trusting of people. They typically see the best in people and don’t think about people being mean. They are real and honest and they trust the people around them. They are quick to believe in miracles and if they are told God can do something, they simply believe it, no questions asked. I believe that God wants us to become like a little child because He wants us to trust like a little child. He wants us to trust in Him and simply believe Him and the things He’s capable of doing just because He’s told us so. I believe He wants us to have the simple, strong faith of a child. The last reason I think that God tells us to become like a child is because of a child’s ability to love. When Rebel looks at me, he doesn’t see my tendency to worry or be anxious. He doesn’t see my lazy side or the side of me that gets easily frustrated about something that doesn’t warrant that frustration. He doesn’t see my selfishness. When Rebel looks at me, he sees love. He sees that I love him and he loves me. He sees my good qualities—that I feed him, and sing to him, cuddle him and kiss him, play with him and read to him. Little children know how to love better than most. They don’t withhold love because of mistakes we’ve made. They don’t discriminate based on our sex or race or based on our financial status. They simply love. They show love and they crave love. We are the same way—we crave love and the wonderful thing is that God can give that love to us. And God wants us to SHOW love to others. He wants us to become like a little child. Rebel reminds me of why God wants us to become like little children. We think that, as adults, we are so much stronger and wiser than children. Rebel is strong, he’s survived a difficult birth and brain bleed and is going strong. There are children who have battled cancer at such young ages and never looked back. Children are wise—they don’t worry and dwell on the negatives of life, but they live carefree, trusting their parents and the God their parents teach them about (so let’s make sure we’re teaching our children about the One, true, God). Children are pure and they are full of love. They grow based on what they hear and see, based on what’s poured into them. We are the same way and if what we see and hear is God’s Word, we’ll flourish. We need to humble ourselves and become like little children—loving others, blind to their flaws, living pure and holy lives, and trusting God, without doubting or questioning. We can learn a lot from the children God has blessed us with and would do well to strive to emulate their many Christ-like characteristics. -Dana Alexander