“At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you. Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the little children” (Luke 10:21).
Having a childlike faith is not about possessing some sort of adolescent or mindless understanding of God. Likewise, one having the faith of a child is not necessarily more gullible to false doctrine or more prone to the wiles of Satan. Quite the opposite, believers with an understanding of God like the “little children” have likely reached the limits of their own human capabilities in achieving a closer walk with God. Sometimes out of exhaustion, a believer will collapse figuratively before the cross, ceding all to Christ. Ironically, trying to be too smart and sophisticated in one’s faith can often lead to greater self-sufficiency and separation from the love of God that one desperately seeks.
The only sophistication God desires is for us to give our lives with abandon to Him, without any preconditions or expectations. Each day, we might begin with a simple of prayer of “do with me as you will”, allowing God to mix things up in our lives as He wishes. We need to stop obsessing about our family, our finances, our career, our plans, spending more time in quiet prayer and reflection, allowing God to speak to hearts, revealing His plan and purpose for our life, day by day. Remember the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus taught us to pray “and give us this day our daily bread”. Jesus exists in the moment, and the childlike faith trusts moment by moment, that God has our best interests at heart, and all will be okay.
Let’s not forget to take time to be in awe of God’s creation, and His infinite love for us, made perfect through the death and resurrection of Jesus. A child has a bright-eyed wonder of the birds in the air, and stars in the sky, and so should we.
During this Advent season, as we take stock of our preparedness for the newborn Savior, let’s move to rid ourselves of our unhealthy preoccupations, and reclaim that wonder for life and unlock the greater potential in Christ imbued in each one of us, if we will just let Him be the Lord of our lives.
Have a Blessed Sunday!
Joe
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