Childlike Faith – July 10, 2023

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”
Matthew 11:25,26

Childlike Faith

If you were to die and stand before God, and he were to ask you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” how would you answer him?

That is an important question, and over the millennia, humanity’s best and brightest have come up with many different answers. According to the Bible, however, there is only one correct answer: “Because Jesus lived a perfect life for me, died on the cross for me, and rose from the dead for me.”

The Bible calls that answer the gospel, which is the exact opposite of what the wise and learned expect it to be. They expect an answer that puts them at an advantage, one that gets them into heaven by their own intellectual endeavors, religious effort, or good works—anything but total reliance on Jesus as their Savior.

That’s why Jesus says the gospel is hidden from the wise and learned. It’s not that God makes it obscure. It’s just that they are too self-focused to see what God wants to reveal to them.

The fact of the matter is that no one can come up with the correct answer on their own. The gospel does not involve arrogantly assuming that you can enter heaven under your own power. Rather, it involves humbly recognizing that you can’t.

You don’t need to be wise and learned; you need to be like a child. Children know how to trust because they are dependent on their parents. So when you say to a Christian child, “Jesus loves me this I know,” they reply, “For the Bible tells me so.” That is childlike faith that trusts completely.

Praise God that adults can be spiritual children, believers who simply trust that Jesus has already done it all.

Prayer:
Father, give me faith that trusts your Son and his gospel completely. Amen.