15 Days of Faith – Day 2
I’ve heard all of my life that we should come to God with childlike faith. That exact phrase is not in the Bible, but Jesus did tell us that we should “receive the kingdom of God like a child.” Look at the story found in
Mark 10:13-16 “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.”
Jesus wasn’t telling us to be childish. We’ve probably all heard stories over the last several days of childish behavior from adults. He was telling us, however, that we should demonstrate faith in God like children do. Some people have tried to turn this passage into a lot of things it’s not, and others have worked to develop some additional theological message from this encounter. This story is nothing more than parents wanting their children to see Jesus and to be blessed by Him and Jesus using the event to teach us a lesson about authentic faith.
Many years ago, when my youngest son was about three years old, I took my family on vacation to Myrtle Beach. I remember standing in the pool at a campground in waist-deep water. My son yelled my name. I looked up in time to see him start running across the concrete toward the pool. When he got to the edge of the pool, he flung himself into the air toward me. I was stunned at first, but I recovered in time to catch him before he sank in the water.
My son couldn’t swim at that time, but he could trust. He knew his father was not only capable of catching him but also willing and always ready.
God is fully capable of catching you, and He’s waiting on you to call out His name. We are living in some strange times indeed. Although the danger we are encountering right now because of the spread of this virus is temporary, it is reminding us that we need to place our trust in our God Who is much bigger than a virus. Will you trust Him today? I’ve shared a few more thoughts on a video. I hope you’ll watch.