I often laugh to myself when I read the words “suffer the little children” from the conversation between Jesus and His disciples in Mark 10. After teaching energetic 3rd graders for over 20 years I often feel that I’ve done my share of suffering. The word as used here however means “to allow”. Jesus said, “Allow the little children to come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.” This was in response to the disciples attempts to shoo the children away from Jesus.
Jesus knew that childlike faith is needed to accept Him and the Word of God. As adults, we tend to analyze everything to pieces. If we can’t make something make sense to us in our own world, then we tend to ignore or dismiss it totally.
Children, on the other hand, are born trusting. Children will believe in impossible, totally unrealistic things such as egg-toting rabbits and little flying people who collect teeth from under pillows, if their parents tell them it is so. Maturity dispels the myths but faith in someone they love and trust does not fade so rapidly. Disappointment in someone can dull our trust but faith in our real life heroes lives on.
My father was not perfect but he loved me, and because of his love, I always trusted him totally with my life. I remember zooming down a giant slide into a lake only because I knew he was at the bottom of the slide waiting to catch me. I remember riding on his shoulders through deep ocean water to reach a sandbar, never once worrying about being swept away. I remember learning to ride a bicycle with him running beside me knowing full well he would never allow me to topple over. At 6 feet 3 inches tall and 240 pounds, I not only told my classmates on the playground that my daddy could beat up their daddy, I knew he could.
So when the Bible tells me that the world was created in 6 days, the Red Sea parted, and a donkey spoke, I believe my Abba (Daddy) Father. These are not foolish fairy tales, but true historical accounts found in the written word of God. Which by the way, has been attacked often but never proven wrong on any account. Childlike faith means I don’t have to understand the mysteries of the universe. It is enough to know that God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die for me in order to provide forgiveness for my sins. With that I trust Him completely. With my life, my death, my eternity.
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