Out of the Mouth of Babies, Part 2

08 May

Out of the Mouth of Babies, Part 2

In Luke 18:15-17, Jesus talked about letting the little children come to Him:

“And they brought unto Him also infants, that He would touch them. But when His disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”

Often I have wondered what Jesus was really saying in this passage. When I read my little vignette of last week’s devotional (May 1, 2020) thirty-seven years after I had written it, I laughed at first, and then I realized that it answers at least part of my questions:

What qualities of being a child was Jesus looking for when He said that entrance into the kingdom of God requires it? And how does that inform our attitudes and behaviors regarding God?

To become an adult is to mature into independence from our parents, leaving behind the needs and desires of our childhood and moving into both the realities of that independence and the provision for the next generation of children. Adulthood also leaves behind the ingenuous straightforwardness and sincerity of childhood. As adults we tend to color our responses and actions according to the people and attitudes that surround us. A child simply blurts out what he is thinking, without taking into consideration the social graces required by a given culture. The list of qualities begins, then, with honesty:

Honesty – Matthew 7:7-8 7. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” A child talks unhindered, presenting every question and concern to the loving parents in his or her life, holding nothing back. To seek the kingdom of God requires that same level of honesty, setting aside the adult pride that keeps us from showing that we really don’t know all the answers.

Humility – Matthew 18:1-4, “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” In the normal course of life, a child does not pretend to be anything but what he is, including willful moments. Most of the time, a child humbly observes and learns from his surroundings, subconsciously recognizing his smallness in a world of big people.

Trust – Psalm 36:6-7, “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” Regarding salvation, it is the coming to Jesus in a childlike way, in trust, and abandoning the burdens that are too heavy for us on His Father-like shoulders; and He does have BIG shoulders.

Curiosity and Openness to New Ideas – Luke 10:21 “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” What a joy to be with a child who stops to examine in wonder the bugs, the butterflies, the little flowers along the way as he discovers his world for the first time. To those who do not believe, the gospel is foolishness. In the world’s grown-up economy, our belief in God is bullied and frowned upon because it is not understood. God has given the understanding of the Gospel to those who open themselves by faith to Him, in childlike wonder and curiosity, seeking to know Him better.

Freedom from Fear – Matthew 21:15-16, “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did and the children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased. And they said unto him, Do you hear what these say? And Jesus said unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” When our children were little they used to take turns hanging on to their dad’s hands as he swung them around in circles; their shrieks of delight could be heard blocks away. They had no fear that their Daddy would let go or drop them. Likewise, God has proven Himself faithful and trustworthy over and over again. He is not someone we have to fear if we belong to Him.

Faith – Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” When he asked, “How come you’re using the honey, Mom?” my son accepted my answer, “because the recipe calls for it”, by faith. He believed that what I said was true and moved on to his next question. Scripture is clear that our salvation is by grace, “through faith…” (Eph. 2:8-9). The faith required to bring us into the Kingdom of God is a childlike quality that is thwarted in adults by the experience of human duplicity. Ephesians 2:8b tells us the faith to believe is “not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”. Our part is to set aside human experience to accept the faith from God, and believe with all our hearts that Jesus paid the price for our sin.

Finally, when a child continues talking and asking questions, he simply wants to prolong the time with the loving and listening parent. He is trusting the parent in a way that opens him to talk unhindered, to present every question and concern to the loving parents in his life, holding nothing back. When I say holding nothing back, I don’t mean babbling words or experimenting with sounds. I mean the questions of a child who does not have the skills to carry on a conversation along socially accepted lines. So the child keeps on asking the question, not looking for a different answer, but simply wanting to prolong the moment of time with his parent.

We are human and sometimes find this incessant noise unbearable. But God, our Heavenly Father, is listening to our incessant chatter with much more patience and love than we have with our children. And He desires that loving fellowship with us. He desires to prolong the precious moment of time together; do we desire to prolong the moment with God as our children do with us?

1 Peter 2:1-3 tells us, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby, if…you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Our time with God includes time in the Word, learning and growing up in Him. But it is also a time to listen to Him and to commune with Him out of pure enjoyment of His company, like we did when we were first drawn to Him in love. Have we lost that childlike desire to just be near Jesus?

Take a page from a child’s story on this one, and be a child in God’s presence, enjoying Him and talking to Him about whatever is on your heart. Is your adult experience getting in the way of childlike trust with God? Then give that to God as well, in Jesus’ name and in childlike faith, repenting and asking forgiveness for what grieves His heart.