January 27: "Childlike Faith in a Childish World"

Exodus 4:1—5:21

Matthew 18:1-20

Psalm 22:19-31

Proverbs 5:15-21

 

"…unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

 

Jesus presents us with a reversal of human values. To be great, he says, is to like a child. But what does it mean to have "childlike" faith?

 

Usually, being compared to a child is a bad thing. We might dismiss a friend's behavior for being "childish." Yet the world around us seems bent on turning us into spoiled brats. Childish virtues are rooted in such things as status. Wealth. Achievement. Reputation. Childish virtue is characterized first and foremost by self-interest. For some, it's the self-righteousness that comes from personal success. For others, it's the self-pity that comes from life's hard edges.

 

But childlikeness is nothing like childishness. How so? In Jesus' day, children were looked at differently than they are now. Parents loved their kids, mind you, but high child mortality rates meant that children never ranked that high on the ladder of social importance. Childlike faith, therefore, is the renunciation of self-importance. Childlike faith values humility over status, generosity over privilege, and sacrifice over success. And why not? If my identity is secure in Christ, I have everything I could ever want or need. The gospel sets me free from trying to "earn" worldly status.

 

Again, Jesus presents us with a reversal of human values. The more we grow in Christ, the more childlike we become. We live in a childish world. Help us, Lord, to be more childlike.