Coming As A Child

Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

Luke 18:16

JACOB WAS TERRIFIED AS he looked at the imposing letter. Things were already tight financially, and now he was being told that he owed more than $7,000 in back taxes. His first thought went to the money he had lost that year in a risky investment. Was this God’s punishment for his irresponsibility? Jacob had spent hours beating himself up over that deal, and now all those feelings of self-loathing and inadequacy came rushing back.

“How can I pray and ask God for help when it was my irresponsibility that created the problem?” Jacob muttered.

It is tempting to believe that God expects us to be completely responsible, self-sufficient adults who need Him only when we have exhausted all other options. But nothing could be further from the truth. In today’s verse, Jesus doesn’t tell the crowd that they enter the Kingdom of God as self-sufficient, responsible adults who have no needs. Rather, He says, we’re to come as little children.

Infants are completely dependent on others for their well-being. The basic necessities that sustain life—food, water, and shelter—must be provided by others. Even when infants sleep, they must be monitored. Though it may be hard, especially for men, to admit we are needy, it is what God desires. And it is our reality as dependent, created people made in God’s image. We need Him for everything.

BOTTOM LINE

There’s no shame in childlike, dependent faith. In fact, that’s the kind of faith Jesus is looking for from us.

Moment of Strength: John 15:5