We must come as a little child to enter the kingdom of God, Matthew 18:1-3. What does that really mean? Do we have to become childish? To understand this statement we need to consider what are child-like qualities.
Total Trust
A child totally trusts and interacts with a loving parent and the child is totally dependent on the parent. The child has an unquestioning belief that the adult will meet every need and requirement.
In the bible we have promise after promise from God that covers every aspect of our life. It is up to us to accept with our whole heart, that God knows our end from before our beginning, Isaiah 46:10. He knows what we will mature into and allows us to make our own mistakes, without condemnation.
Responsibility
When you sire, or give birth to a child, you have a responsibility to care, provide and love that child. When the child fails in taking that first step, you are there to encourage them to try again. You do not have unrealistic expectations, but allow the child to grow and progress at its natural level.
A child trusts the parent to get them out of any difficulty. The child of God knows that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, Romans 8:28. What Satan designs for our destruction, God uses for good, Genesis 50:20.
Interactional Relationship
The child-parent relationship is two-way. The child reacts to the adult, the adult is delighted and encourages the child’s reaction.
God could have created us as robots who would perform His perfect will. However, he gave us a free will. Even unbelievers are under the mercy of God, despite their resistance to Him. We have the choice of entering into a loving, covenantal relationship with God, or struggle through life’s journey believing self is the great I Am.
Natural
Watch a group of young children at play and you quickly see how natural they are. They don’t try to please someone else or put on false fronts. They are not judgmental and easily accept the differences in their playmates.
God did not create us as biscuits from a cookie-cutter. Each of us is different, with our own unique personalities. Yet together we make a united whole, that is the Body of Christ.
Life as a follower of Jesus would be a lot easier if we would learn to be humble and non-judgmental of our fellow travellers and not try to be like someone else. God has an individual spot for each one of us.
Not Own Understanding
A child believes, loves and totally trusts a loving parent. However, the child has no understanding of the role the parent is playing in the child’s life. The parent does a thousand and one things to secure the happiness, comfort and a healthy growing environment for the wellbeing of the child.
The child is vulnerable to outside influence and helpless over the circumstances surrounding it, blissfully unaware of all the things that could endanger the quality of life. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him, Matthew 6:7, and is our everlasting protection.
If we could see into the spiritual realm, we would discover that there are far more for us than those who are against us, 2 Kings 6:16.
Laughter
A child laughs around 300 times a day, but an adult only averages around 15 laughs, or less. Michael Pritchard says, “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing”.
Small things amuse a child. There are no regrets about yesterday, or fears about tomorrow. To come as a little child is to wonder at the many things in our day that are ‘good’, for God’s mercies are new every morning, Lamentations 3:22.
Inquisitive and Imaginative
A child is ever inquisitive and hungry for information. “Why? Why?” quickly becomes a parent’s nightmare. We need to bring that same curiosity to the things of God. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search a matter out, Proverbs 25:2.
A child is endlessly creative and imaginative, living in the world of endless possibilities. Nothing is impossible to the child of God.
When we lose our creativity and imagination, or the excitement over a new discovery, something inside us dies. The joy of reading the living word of God is that it is forever revealing hidden treasures which we should be eager to discover.
Living in the Now
A child has no interest or knowledge in the past or the future. A child lives always in the now and whatever the immediate want or need is.
God lives in the now, for in Him, past and future are now. He knows all our tomorrows, as well as our past. His heart is that we will learn to live like children, in the now, in true fellowship with Him. Our greatest aspiration should be to do the will of our Father every day, no matter what circumstances we find ourself in.
The Gift
We are delighted with our newborn child and see it as a gift from God, for God alone gives life, 1 Timothy 6:13. A child eagerly receives a gift and is delighted with the unexpected. We have been offered the greatest gift of all – forgiveness, reconciliation and eternal fellowship with the Creator who constantly reveals Himself to us.
Man was not created to die, for that only came about when man sinned. However, God had a plan that was made in the eternal past. He made the way for fallen man to be redeemed through the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8. Man has been given the gift of fellowship with a holy God and eternal life in His presence.
Perfect Peace
As a child of God we are to enter into His peace that goes beyond all our comprehension. We are to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, Philippians 4:6.
As a loving, perfect parent, God guards our hearts and minds, which are to be Christ-centred. Only then will the demands of this world fade away as we look forward to taking our place in the Heavenly City.
Come as a Little Child
Does that mean we are to become non-thinking, non-assessing people in order to enter the kingdom of God? Far from it. Faith is the only thing that pleases God, Hebrews 11:8, and it is with the beautiful faith of a child, that helps us to be fruitful members of the Kingdom of God.
A child’s life centres around love as experienced from a loving parent. God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son to die for us. John 3:16. The depths of such grace, mercy, and love are incomprehensible to the human mind.
Result of Come as a Little Child
Parents delight to see their child grow and mature into an adult who has learned valuable lessons on the way. It is the same spiritually, for God desires we mature into the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ, Ephesians 4:13.
The child of God who enters whole heartedly into a covenantal relationship with the Creator of the universe, brings great joy to the Father’s heart, Zephaniah 3:17. It is a privilege to be a child of God and have the confidence to access the Father’s heart. All it requires is that we come to Him as a little child, in faith, humility and love.
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