Childlike Faith

The Sunday morning sermon in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on February 4, 2024.  The Bible verses used are Mark 10:13-16.

            Do you remember what your life was like when you were a little kid?  How did you feel about life?  What was your attitude toward life?

            I’m not talking about when you got old enough to start working and helping out.  I mean, I grew up on a farm, and even though I could never be a farmer I’m glad that I was a farm kid and had that upbringing.  But I’m talking about when you were little.  Three, or four, or five, or six, something like that.  

            Remember what the world was like for you back then?  As I think about it, what I remember most is playing games in the back yard.  In my memory, it was a really big back yard.  In fact, when I looked at it as an adult, it was not very big at all.  But when I was a little kid, it was huge.  I loved sports, even back then, so that back yard became a baseball field, a golf course, and a football field.  We had a basketball hoop over the garage, so that area became a basketball court.  I would play games out there for hours, sometimes with my brothers, but often alone.  It shows how little athletic ability I have that even though I spent all those hours playing sports, I never was any good at any of them.

            And I remember too, as a little kid, how much trust I had in my parents.  If Mom or Dad said something, I totally believed it.  Not only did I believe they would always tell me the truth, I also totally trusted their judgment.  For example, if there was bad weather, and Dad said we should stay home because of it, I had no doubt that he was right.  And if Dad said it wasn’t that bad, that we could make it okay, I had no doubt that he was right about that, too.  Now, as an adult, I realize that Dad was probably no more sure of what to do in those situations than I am.  But as a little kid, I totally trusted that he was right.

            In our Bible reading for today, Jesus says this:  “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

            That’s a saying some of have heard many times, of course.  But why did Jesus say that?  What did he mean by it?  Why does the kingdom of God belong to little children?  Why do we need to receive the kingdom of God like a little child?  What does it even mean, to receive the kingdom of God like a little child?

            As we think about that, one thing we need to keep in mind is what a revolutionary statement that was at the time.  Today, it’s a cliché to talk about the importance of children.  We hear all the time that children are our future, that children are our most valuable resource.  Politicians constantly tell us that we need to do things “for the children”.  We constantly hear about how valuable and important children are.  Our actions don’t always live up to our words, but we at least pay lip service to children being incredibly important.

            That was not the way it was in Jesus’ time.  Children were not considered important at all.  Having children was considered important–it was sometimes considered a scandal or a punishment from God to not have children.  But the children themselves, once they were born, were not particularly valuable.  Once they got old enough to work and contribute, then yes, they were important.  But as little kids?  They were a drag on the family.  They were, as the saying goes, to be seen and not heard, and often they were not to be seen, either.  That’s why the disciples were trying to keep the little kids away from Jesus–they did not want people bothering the Savior with these unimportant little beings.

            So when Jesus said the kingdom of God belongs to little children, and that we need to receive the kingdom of God like little children in order to enter it, people were really surprised.  That was not a statement that made sense to them.  So again, we ask, why did Jesus say that?  What did He mean by it?

            That’s why I asked you to think about what your world was like when you were little.  Because the way we looked at life when we were little kids is the way God wants us to look at life–with a sense of joy, with a sense of wonder, and with a sense of trust.

            I read a quote recently from Marianne Williamson.  She said, “Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called ‘All the Things That Could Go Wrong.’”  It seems to me that there’s a lot of truth in that.

            When little kids start to do something, they don’t think about all the things that could go wrong.  They just do it.  They do it, and they see what happens.  Maybe it works the way they wanted it to.  Maybe it works better.  Maybe it doesn’t work at all.  When it doesn’t work, what do they do?  They take a minute, then they do something else.  But little kids are not afraid to try things.  They’re not afraid of failing.  They live in the moment.  They take joy in the moment.

            Little kids live with a sense of wonder.  When you’re a little kid, you think everything in the world exists for you to play with.  Sometimes, of course, that includes things they should not play with, and parents have to step in and stop them.  But for a little kid, the smallest thing can be amazing.  An anthill.  Leaves blowing.  A pile of snow.  Everything can be wonderful when you’re a little kid.

            Little kids live with a sense of possibility.  When you’re five years old, everything seems possible.  You can dream of being a baseball player, as I did when I was five.  You can dream of being an astronaut and going to the moon.  You can dream of owning a candy store and being able to eat candy every day.  When you’re a little kid, you have dreams, and you believe that your dreams could come true.

            And little kids live with a sense of trust.  They trust that their parents will love them and take care of them.  If they have older brothers and sisters, they trust them, too.  They believe that their parents are looking out for them and that their parents will protect them from anything that might hurt them.

            Somewhere along the line, we lose all that.  We create that file called “All the Things That Could Go Wrong.”  Things like leaves and snow become a nuisance that we have to deal with.  We stop dreaming, and in fact decide dreams are stupid.  

            To an extent, of course, that’s inevitable.  And it’s not all bad, of course.  Some of it is necessary.  We do have to grow up.  We do have to mature.  Little kids are wonderful, but we don’t put them in charge of things.  We need adults to be in charge–adults who are realistic and can see potential problems and realize that not everyone can be trusted.

            But when it comes to our faith in God, we do need to keep those traits of children.  We need to be willing to follow God, and do the things Jesus told us to do, without worrying about All the Things That Could Go Wrong.  We need to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, without thinking about what the reactions of others could be.

            And we can do that if we keep that sense of possibility.  We need to have dreams–dreams of a church, of a community, of a world, in which everyone puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Savior.  And we need to believe that those dreams can come true.  Not because of our own goodness or greatness, but because of the goodness and greatness of God.  Because in fact, as Jesus told us, with God, all things really are possible.  Incredible, unbelievable things, things that might have seemed impossible to us, can actually happen with God’s help.

            And that brings us to the other thing we need:  trust.  We need to trust in God the Father the way I trusted in my Dad when I was a kid.  If God says we should do something, then we should do it.  If God says we should not do something, we should not do it.  We need to trust in God’s judgment.  We need to trust in God’s wisdom.  We need to trust God.

            And we can do that with a sense of wonder.  Wonder at the world God created.  Wonder at God’s wisdom.  Wonder at how God takes care of us.  Wonder at God’s love.

            The kingdom of God belongs to those who approach God like little children.  Those who put their faith in God.  Those who do their best to serve God and love God, no matter how others may react to that.  Those who are willing to dream.  Those who truly believe that, with God, all things are possible.

            Let’s be those people.  Let’s recapture our childlike faith.  Let’s feel the joy and wonder of God’s world.  Let’s close the file of All the Things That Could Go Wrong.  Instead, let’s dream of all the things that could go right.  Let’s live with a sense of possibility and trust in God.  And let’s see what happens.  I think there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be something good.