Feb 12: Believe like a child.

Mark 10:13-16 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

As adorable as they are, they can also be annoying and interrupting. On one hand they bring meaning and a sense of purpose to your life. They make you a responsible adult, and they teach you to care and love. On the other hand, they can test the limit of your patience and push every possible button to tick you off. They can bring the best and the worst out of us, given the right circumstances. Yes, I am talking about children. I have three amazing kids and despite everything I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t imagine a life without them. Children are truly a gift from God.

The question was how Jesus would feel about being interrupted by a bunch of parents bringing their kids just so that Jesus could touch them? The disciples thought Jesus had better things to worry about. And so they told the parents to leave Jesus alone. Some of the kids might have tried to run past the disciples (as you would expect them to do!) and I imagine the disciples had to chase after them and take them back to the parent, visibly annoyed on letting their children run around like that. Well, we read that when Jesus saw what was happening “he was indignant”!

The word indignant is defined as: feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment. Isn’t that an interesting word used to show Jesus’ reaction? It seemed like Jesus was upset with how the disciples treated those kids and their parents. Instead of seeing children as a disturbance, Jesus welcomes them and even takes them in his arms and blesses them! And then He makes this statement with regards to the children in Mark 10:15 which completely changes our perspective of how God sees a child: “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The big difference between a child and an adult is their innocence. A child just tends to believe anything told to them, until they grow old enough to test if its true or not. If you convince a child that Santa is real and tell them to be good so they can get presents, they are going to believe you and do as you say. If you teach them that man evolved out of a monkey and that the world was created out of nothing, they will accept that as the truth. The same is applicable if you tell them that God split the red sea and more than a million people walked through it with Moses as their leader. A child is wired to accept anything that comes out of an adult’s mouth and if you tell it to them enough times, they will be convinced that whatever you’re saying is the truth and everything else is a lie. Well, that’s exactly the way Jesus wants adults to be, when it comes to trusting in Him. Believe everything that He says without questioning. To Thomas who doubted that Jesus had resurrected from the dead, He said “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Are you willing to trust God like a child? His timing, His plans, His promises – even when it does not make sense? Your adult friends might be making logical decisions based on facts surrounding them. But a disciple of Christ defies logic and uses faith as primary means to progress in life. It’s tough as an adult, but that is what Jesus wants from us. Believe like a child. We are after all His beloved little children.