One of my prayers for the summer was that God would open my eyes to what it means to be his child. I have been raised in the church, hearing that I was God's child, but I guess I didn't fully understand what that meant in regards to my faith. The only time I had spent with children was when I was a child myself. As glorious as those times are, you don't normally find yourself contemplating how you can apply childlikeness to your faith as you are making mud pies with the neighborhood kids.
This summer, I was surrounded by children. My team leaders had three (8, 4, and 2) and then there was a British couple that stayed in the basement apartment that had three as well (4, 2, and 8 months). I learned that I was good with kids and that I enjoyed being around them. Their wonderment and willingness to ask questions that confused them astounded me and made me think about what it meant to be a child.
Children often don't have the understandings of the world quite figured out. Things are new to them almost all the time and they are constantly working to figure out how things work. They are also willing to ask questions. The instance that most sticks out to me is when Benjamin asked me a question. I was carrying Benjamin to the couch because the floors were wet and he looks at me and said, "Victoria, are you a man?" I was a bit taken aback because I had never received this particular question before. I asked Ben why he thought I was maybe a man and he very confidently said, "Well, your so big and strong." I then preceded to explain to Ben that I was a girl and that girls can be big and strong too sometimes.
Even though I was surprised by his question, it caused me to think. This was one of those child-like moments that we are to emulate in our relationship with Christ. We are to ask Him the questions that confuse us and seek His counsel. We don't need to be afraid of making it seem as though we know nothing, God already knows that we are completely clueless. As Christians, we often shy away from the tougher questions of our faith. We say, "Well, that is just something that we will have to take on faith." But we are called to seek His Word and seek the answers to those questions. We, as children, are still trying to understand what it is that God has in store for us and who He is and who we are in light of Him. We need to not be afraid of asking the tougher questions of our faith, admitting to ourselves our ignorance in this area, and seeking God's answers to these questions through His Word.
Children are completely reliant upon their parents. Putting on shoes, getting dressed, eating, going to the bathroom, all of these things only happen if parents are there, ready and waiting to assist. A child isn't born with the innate sense of how to tie their shoes, they must learn, and their parents often have to teach them. We don't know everything about God, we must have patience with ourselves and rely on God to teach us. God will use others in our lives and also His Word. We also must rely on His provision and love for us. I know that I have consistently struggled with relying on God and had to face the truth that my abilities and strength are not adequate. Children know this already. They know that there are things that they can't do, and they rely on their parents/caretakers to help them do it.
A child's love is pure, joyful, and infectious. I remember one morning coming downstairs, not super excited that it was 8:00 am and kinda grumpy. Then, my team leaders' little daughter saw me, shouted my name "Towwie", and ran up to me with a smile on her face to tell me about her breakfast. Her joy at seeing me immediately brightened my morning and gave me some of the joy that she had. I then realized how God must feel when we come to Him with joy and love. When we share our joys with God, it makes Him happy because it lets Him into our lives as our Father. I am so often guilty of only coming to God when I am struggling with something, but God just wants to be a part of my every day life.
The love that I have for my God should be evident to others, like a child's love for their parents. There was no doubt in anyone's mind as to who the top two people were in the minds of the kids in the house. It was always their parents. The knew they were loved by their parents and that they loved their parents. They were sad when their parents would leave and ecstatic when they returned. My love for God should be just as evident and unbridled. People should be able to see my love for God through the way I live my life and seek Him. I need to find security in His love for me and reciprocate that love as well.
So many lessons can be learned from children, and Jesus knew that too (Matthew 19). Children are a reflection of who we are in God's view. We are His children and He loves us more than our earthly parents, because He is perfect. If we can rest in the love of our earthly parents, what keeps us from resting in the love of our Heavenly Father? We need to view ourselves as children in regards to God and we need to know that we are God's children.
Growing up in the church, I have consistently heard the term "faith like a child". I understand that this is a good idea, but I don't think it is so much that we need to have faith like children as it is we need to recognize that we are God's children. We don't have the answers, we need to ask our heavenly Father. We are incapable of taking care of ourselves, we need to rely on Him to provide for us. We need to love Him with joy and trust Him. We need to have the faith that He is good and that He wants to provide the good for us. We need to see Him as our heavenly Daddy and know that we are his beloved, cherished, precious, chosen children.
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