Childlike Faith

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 18:1-4)

This is not the only instance in the Bible where the disciples had a question about greatness and hierarchy in heaven (Mt. 20:20-28, Lk. 9:46-48, Lk. 22:24-27), so clearly this was a big deal to them!

They likely had their own criteria for what makes a person great and maybe even a point system to determine how they would be ranked before God. But Jesus had a different view. Rather than pointing out the strongest, smartest, most accomplished, or most righteous, he brought forward a child. Not someone full-grown and strong, not one with deep wisdom from lived experience, not one who had accomplished great things or done many righteous works, but a child.

A child should be dependent upon and trusting in his or her parents, just as we should be dependent upon and trusting in our heavenly Father. A child should be able to freely receive good gifts from his or her parents without needing to earn them, just as we should be able to readily receive grace from God rather than trusting in our own efforts. A child should be wide-eyed and in awe at the world and the God who created it, just as we should be.

Maybe we didn’t have this experience in childhood, or perhaps our faith has grown mundane. We can become jaded and cynical. We can grow prideful and arrogant. We can come to a point of arguing over who is the greatest instead of simply rejoicing in the grace that has been poured out on us all. If or when your faith begins to feel this way, remember this passage and the childlike faith that is beautiful to Jesus. He can restore that kind of childlike faith in you.