What are the childlike qualities that Jesus expects us to have?

THE CHILDLIKE QUALITIES JESUS EXPECTS US TO HAVE

Mk. 9:30-37

People have conflicting attitudes and approaches to children.  Some parents realise that their children are a gift and blessing from God, giving them all the love, time and attention, they can to enable them to become mature Christians and responsible citizens.

There are other parents who dote on their children and cater for their every whim and fancy.  They molly coddle them and do not discipline them for their good.  When their adorable toddlers become surly teenagers, who can never be satisfied, they wonder where they went wrong!

Why this reference to children?  Because in today’s Gospel Jesus put His arms round one, in front of the Apostles, and said “Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in My name, welcomes Me.”  In another part of the Gospel He said, “Let the little children come to Me for of such is the Kingdom of God” (Mk 10:14) and, in still another place, warned, “Unless you become like a little child, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt 18:1-35) It is clear that Jesus placed a high value on childlike faith.

Which child was He talking about – the well-mannered or the spoilt brat?  Neither!  He was comparing faith in God to the qualities of the unspoiled child’s approach to life.  Most children have an insatiable curiosity.  One question leads to another. They want to know about objects, what it is and how it works.  Some children have not lost that sense of wonder.  Watch their faces as they wait for Father Christmas; their excitement when they are going to places like the zoo.  They are fascinated by the miracles of life.

Do we have that sense of wonder?  Religion began in wonder.  Moses wondered why the bush was on fire but not being consumed.  Jesus tried to share with us the thrill of God clothing the lilies of the field and feeding the birds of the air.  A truly childlike faith, looking behind appearances for the real nature of things, has much in common with scientific inquiry and artistic creativity.  The Kingdom of God drives us to emulate the insatiable curiosity of children.

Children also have indomitable courage.  We adults have forgotten what it is like to be a baby.  We think only grownups are brave.  A baby has immense courage.  Imagine what it would be like for us to be transported to a world we know nothing about.  Surrounded by creatures we have never seen before and at the mercy of forces we don’t know, and addressed in a language that we could not understand.  Think of the courage it would require for us to begin to explore and learn about that world.  That’s what babies have to do when they are born.  They explore every nook and cranny of their environment and suffer endless injuries and embarrassments.  They are driven by a courage that is a match for our bravest heroes.

As people of faith we would do well to emulate the courage of a child.  That courage takes people to foreign lands to spread the Gospel, eradicates injustice, empowers us to side with the poor, weak and powerless, gives us the strength to resist the temptation to cut corners in our jobs and in our marriages.  The Kingdom of God requires us to emulate this indomitable courage of a child.

Children have an unwavering commitment, too, to the people who love and care for them.  They do not play games in their relationships, calculate how to give in proportion to what they receive nor withhold their affection for fear of being rebuffed or hurt.  That childlike commitment is what God expects from us.  He enters into a covenant with us and requires total commitment from us of the kind we see in marriages for better for worse, for richer for poor, in sickness and in health.

Some cynics say religion is childish because people do as they are told and do not take responsibilities for their lives.  That is far from being true.  The faith of a true Christian is far from childish. A true Christian has to make responsible and sometimes very hard decisions that will affect the future of their eternal lives.

Lord Jesus, help us to possess the childlike qualities of curiosity, courage and commitment which, You assured us, are needed if we are to possess the Kingdom of God.

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