Childlike
'Childish' refers to a behaviour in which a person acts in a foolish and annoying way. However, the word 'childlike' indicates good qualities of a child, such as honesty, sweetness, purity, etc. Some childlike traits are:- being curious, wanting to explore, having an imagination, accepting others, having a sense of innocence, giving generously, being content, freely expressing love, getting up after a fall, being a believer.
Matthew 19:14 NLT "But Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these'."
The Message Bible. Matthew 18:1-5, v10 "At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking; 'Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?' For an answer, Jesus called over a child, whom He stood in the middle of the room, and said 'I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me.
Verse 10 "watch that you don't treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realise, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with My Father in Heaven?"
We are called to grow up, to mature, and to be conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ and He shows us how. Our Lord and Friend displayed His total trust in Father God, and in Matthew 11:29, He said, "Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you because I am humble and gentle". He had childlike trust in His Father, humbling Himself and following what He saw the Father doing. We are called into this personal relationship with Our Heavenly Father, to enjoy His wonderful Presence and trust Him with child-like faith, fully relying on Him in every circumstance of our lives.
May we learn to walk in the unforced rhythms of grace.
Kath
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