[Jesus] 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.

Matthew 18:2-5 (NIV)

 

We are to have a childlike faith in God, trusting Him as our perfect and loving Heavenly Father who knows our needs and will provide for us in many amazing ways. There is nothing to worry or fear when God is on our side. But sometimes we have forgotten how to trust and love Him with a childlike sense of awe and wonder.

Without childlikeness, we cannot enjoy God fully because we struggle with acceptance and are trapped by self-condemning thoughts of being unworthy, unlovable, and not enough. A childlike faith frees us from the futility of performance and trying to please God with our fleshy efforts.

Jesus tells us that no one can enter unless they become like a little child.

Like a child, we must not lose our imagination to help us believe “impossible things” and enjoy the excitement of the mystery, always asking and not worrying, and always hopeful while waiting.

Childlikeness is the sign of maturity in the Kingdom.

The more childlike we become, the more we walk by faith and not by sight. Then our journey in following Him is no longer a struggle, but rather a joy. When we allow our loving, perfect and righteous Father to reparent and heal us, we can enjoy a happy childhood in the Kingdom and mature into so much more. Instead of having the faith in ourselves to believe God’s promises, we become fully persuaded to receive the full measure of our blessings in Christ.