Faith Like A Child
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as there.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. Matthew 19:14-15
In the past ten days I have heard two sermons and had two very interesting conversations with my granddaughter Faith. The sermons were good, well, one was good and one was just okay. The conversations were amazing. My granddaughter is two weeks away from her sixth birthday. She isn’t a genius or a Bible scholar. She is a child, a child who has enormous love and trust in God, which is a bit surprising, considering that she only rarely attends church. She attends a public school and is being raised by a single mother, my daughter, who has a great spiritual foundation but no real relationship with God.
Just yesterday when our pastor referred to a friend who had passed away, he said, “We know God loves Todd [the man’s son] and that He loved Jim.” (Jim being the friend who had died.) I’m fairly certain that our pastor just misspoke. Surely he knows that God’s love extends far beyond this life. But when he made his gaffe, it reminded me of Faith.
Faith has spoken to me about “our new life.” She told me that people get new names in Heaven but that she will not because her name is Faith. Apparently if your name is Faith or something like that, if it has anything to do with trust, you get to keep that name. She told me that God’s favorite word is love. “He also likes share and care but care has to come first. You care about people and then you share with them.” She further explained to me.
Now in my eyes Faith is absolutely precious. She is tender hearted, kind and very compassionate. She is not perfect. Just a few minutes after telling me why God’s favorite word is love, she told me a story about her little sister Madelyn that wasn’t terribly flattering or factual. Faith is a regular Kindergarten child with a connection to God that evades explanation or frankly, understanding.
I don’t know why or how Faith knows the things she knows about God. She tells me He speaks to her. He tells her things. She refers to Him as “the one who always watches over us.” When I asked who that was, she said, “God.” She answered me as if I were an addlebrained child. See, just a regular kid but with a vision of some kind.
Jesus instructed us to be like children, to come to him like children and to have faith like a child. Listening to Faith and then listening to my pastor, I wonder sometimes if too much knowledge gets in the way. Faith told me that God talks to people all the time but that most people don’t hear Him. I wonder if we all need to simplify our lives and just listen to God and to the youngest of His children.
In the past ten days I have heard two sermons and had two very interesting conversations with my granddaughter Faith. The sermons were good, well, one was good and one was just okay. The conversations were amazing. My granddaughter is two weeks away from her sixth birthday. She isn’t a genius or a Bible scholar. She is a child, a child who has enormous love and trust in God, which is a bit surprising, considering that she only rarely attends church. She attends a public school and is being raised by a single mother, my daughter, who has a great spiritual foundation but no real relationship with God.
Just yesterday when our pastor referred to a friend who had passed away, he said, “We know God loves Todd [the man’s son] and that He loved Jim.” (Jim being the friend who had died.) I’m fairly certain that our pastor just misspoke. Surely he knows that God’s love extends far beyond this life. But when he made his gaffe, it reminded me of Faith.
Faith has spoken to me about “our new life.” She told me that people get new names in Heaven but that she will not because her name is Faith. Apparently if your name is Faith or something like that, if it has anything to do with trust, you get to keep that name. She told me that God’s favorite word is love. “He also likes share and care but care has to come first. You care about people and then you share with them.” She further explained to me.
Now in my eyes Faith is absolutely precious. She is tender hearted, kind and very compassionate. She is not perfect. Just a few minutes after telling me why God’s favorite word is love, she told me a story about her little sister Madelyn that wasn’t terribly flattering or factual. Faith is a regular Kindergarten child with a connection to God that evades explanation or frankly, understanding.
I don’t know why or how Faith knows the things she knows about God. She tells me He speaks to her. He tells her things. She refers to Him as “the one who always watches over us.” When I asked who that was, she said, “God.” She answered me as if I were an addlebrained child. See, just a regular kid but with a vision of some kind.
Jesus instructed us to be like children, to come to him like children and to have faith like a child. Listening to Faith and then listening to my pastor, I wonder sometimes if too much knowledge gets in the way. Faith told me that God talks to people all the time but that most people don’t hear Him. I wonder if we all need to simplify our lives and just listen to God and to the youngest of His children.
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
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