Daily Devotional

I love working with kids. I’ve worked with kids or youth in some form since I was eleven years old. I’ve been told that something in my persona “switches on” whenever I interact with kids. I do feel more alive, more joyful, more energized. While many people who work with kids gravitate toward one age group, I actually enjoy spending time with kids of all ages, from tiny babies through moody high schoolers. (Although junior highers are my favorite.) If I’m honest, in most social situations, I would much rather talk to children than adults.

I think Jesus enjoyed being around children, too. In Mark 10, parents bring their children to Jesus for Him to bless them. These kids were probably younger than seven or eight years old. Jesus’ disciples, however, turn them away, “rebuking” their parents. Perhaps they thought Jesus was too busy to be bothered by loud, snotty-nosed kids. Perhaps, after a long day of ministry, the last thing they wanted to deal with was a gaggle of small children. Whatever their reason, they thought these kids were unworthy of Jesus’ time and attention. How wrong they were!

Look at Jesus’ response. He not only invites the children to come to Him, but also corrects the disciples’ idea that they are unimportant: “to such belongs the kingdom of God.” For Jesus, these children were not an irritant or an inconvenience. They were precious bearers of God’s image, as much as any adult. In the words of the Sunday school song,

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red, brown, yellow, black, and white,
They are precious in His sight.

But Jesus goes a step further: “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” What could Jesus possibly mean? We shouldn’t imitate children in every way possible; Proverbs 22:15 says that “folly is bound up in the heart of a child.” Rather, Jesus teaches here that the faith required for entrance into God’s kingdom, the faith that is the essence of our relationship with God, mirrors certain qualities best seen in children. It is a “childlike faith.” From what I’ve observed with kids, here are ways our relationship with God should be “childlike:”

• Trust: Children are incredibly trusting, to the point of gullibility. Their trust is beautifully simple and implicit; if a father tells his child he’ll be back for dinner, the child believes him, simply because he loves his father. That kind of trust—unwavering, unhesitating, grounded in love—is the kind of trust we should have toward God.
  
  
• Dependency: Children are usually much more willing than adults to ask for help. They recognize their limitations and their dependence on others, especially Mom and Dad. How much greater is our dependency on God than that of a small child on its parents!
  
  
• Honesty: Kids are brutally honest. They’ll tell you exactly what they think of you, even if it hurts. No sugarcoating here! Our relationship with God benefits from that kind of honesty, especially with respect to our own sinfulness.
  
  
• Humility: Have you ever seen two children, perfect strangers, play together on a playground? It’s beautiful. Children are less prone to comparison or pretentiousness than adults are. We could learn much from this humility (cf. Matthew 18:4).
  
  
• Eagerness: If you could bottle the eagerness, enthusiasm, and energy of small children and sell it as a supplement, you’d make millions. What if we had the same level eagerness for God and His Word? In 1 Peter 2:2, Peter calls us to have the same longing for spiritual truths that babies do for their mother’s milk.
  
  
• Monotony: I once read that children have “the ability to delight in monotony.” When you play with them, they’ll cry, “Again!” over and over. How great would be our joy if we embraced the potentially “monotonous” part of the Christian life—Bible reading, prayer, fellowship—and cried, “Again!”

If you haven’t spent time with kids lately, or even if you are around kids all the time, keep an eye out for these traits. Ponder how you can model this sort of childlikeness in your own relationship with God. And love on any kids in your life a little extra this week: “to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.