What does it mean to be childlike?


"About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?' Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'" -Matthew 18:1-4

Years ago, someone told me they didn't like me because I was too childlike. At the time, that really hurt. I was embarrassed and tried hard to not be seen as childlike for a long time after that. Now, I see that God loves that quality about me. I also see that being childlike does not mean being immature. Being childlike is actually a very good quality.

Think about it.. children are very trusting. Children see the simple wonder of the world around them. Children are not jaded by life as so many adults are. Children receive love more easily than adults. Why? Because they haven't yet believed the lie that they are unloveable or that they do not deserve love. Children do not care about what others think of them. They haven't had to deal with the social pressures to look, think, act, or dress a certain way so they don't have the same hang ups we adults end up with. Children are innocent.

It stinks when I really think about it. We grow up and the world tells us all these things and expects even more from us. We were not created to live that way but we live in a sinful world and the culture today is rampant with lies about who we are and what our purpose is. No wonder we become jaded. The world chewed us up and spit us out and expects us to be okay with that.

Jesus said that someone who becomes like a little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I want that. I want to be able to find the simple joy in the world around me. I want to be able to trust freely, even though I know I might get hurt. I want to be able to love without reserve and love without fear, because I truly believe that I am lovable and worth love. Because I am! I want to be secure in who I am and in my identity, and not be controlled by what others think of me. Then, even though the social pressures around me won't go away, I won't care as much because I know that what the world thinks of me doesn't really matter after all. Most of all, I want to return to that childlike innocence. That place where I am free of corruption, I am pure and clothed in white because my Savior paid the price for me.

You see, Jesus already paid the price for me. But I have allowed my white gown to get dirty just by believing lies about myself. I know I am forgiven. Now, I want to walk in it and live it out. That, to me, is being childlike.

So for the person who belittled me for being childlike years ago, I don't know if you'll ever read this but I want to say thank you. What you said cut deep, but the Lord used what you meant for evil for good. I also want to let you know that I forgive you. =)

-Jessie






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bucket List

I am currently sitting at Caribou Coffee trying to study for my final exams. There are two girls sitting beside me on skype with one of their friends. They are speaking Spanish to each other. Very fluent Spanish I might add. Both girls are obviously Caucasian in ethnicity. I know I'm supposed to be studying but it got me to thinking about my life and how much I want to learn Spanish. This got me thinking about things that I want to do in my lifetime. I so often think of things that I want to do with my life but then later I forget them, so that is why I have decided to write a bucket list of sorts. Not because I think I'm going to die soon or anything, but just because. We all die someday. The thing that really excites me about this is that I will most likely not even do half of the things I put on my list. As I grow and change my desires will change and maybe I'll add new things to the list and cross off old things that I don't want to do anymore. I know God will lead ...
Read more
Nothing worth doing is ever going to be easy. If you really want something you have to suck it up, put your nose to the grind, and just do it. Yeah, I know that was an overuse of cliches right there. :) This is something I am learning in more than one aspect of my life right now. I can't say it's the most fun lesson I have ever had to learn. :( In my relationship with the Lord, if I want further intimacy I have to push in deeper. Intimacy with the Lord doesn't just happen overnight. It's like in any relationship. Closeness takes time. The people you know the best are generally the ones you spend the most time with. It's the same with the Lord. I am also learning this with school. I really want to be a nurse. I knew going into it that nursing school was going to be difficult, but being told that doesn't exactly prepare you for when it happens. I have been sick the past few days and really not into the whole studying thing. It's hard to concentrate on so...
Read more
Image
I did a photo shoot with my sister and one of her friends today. I don't claim to be a photographer by any means, but I wanted to practice so I can at least be decent. Here's a few of what I took. My sister is so photogenic so it made taking pictures of her much easier. =) Yay. =)
Read more