Childlike Faith

Childlike Faith

Scripture Lessons

Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3

Psalm 91

Revelation 12:7-12

Matthew 18:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. When they did so, they exposed their worldly thinking. They exposed their conception of what it means to be great. You could forgive them for being a little proud. After all, they were in the school of Jesus. They were part of His inner circle. They knew that He was great and naturally assumed that they also were among the truly great in the kingdom of heaven. But which of them is the greatest?

Jesus called a little child (παιδιον) which could be an infant as this refers to a little child, but this must have been a toddler since he was able to come to Jesus at his request. So, the little child came and stood in their midst. “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” When Jesus answered this way, He was not encouraging everyone to strive to be the most outwardly childlike. He was not saying that the one who demonstrates the most outward humility will be the greatest. The disciples already had that covered. They left everything behind and followed Jesus. They risked their lives and ultimately each one of them would give up their life in service of the Gospel. They were outwardly pious in their lives and actions. The problem is that they thought highly of their own piety. They seemed to think that their worldly righteousness would equate with heavenly greatness.

What is it that defines a little child? One characteristic, the one that Jesus is pointing to, is helplessness. A little child cannot take care of their own needs. They are utterly dependent upon others to care for them. They need to be fed, they need to be cleaned, they need to be provided with clothing, shelter, and so forth. Jesus says that the one who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who utterly depends on God. They have no righteousness of their own. They cannot save themselves. They depend entirely on God’s provision. They are not self-sufficient, so they must and do look to God, their heavenly Father, for every need. They are the greatest and they are childlike.

“Childlike” does not mean they must literally be little children, though they could be. It means that they have a childlike faith, that is a faith that receives God’s promises and trusts in God because they are completely dependent on God, just as a child is dependent on his parents to care for him.

Jesus cautioned against tempting such a believer to sin. Such temptation is primarily to lead them into doubt. Remember the words of Satan to Eve, “Did God actually say…” He enticed Eve to disbelieve the word of God, not by directly contradicting it, but by subtly asking a question which introduced doubt. Eve’s response should have been, “How dare you question the word of God!” We also should take note.

The name “Satan” means accuser and he is the accuser. He stands ready to throw you under the bus. On the front end, he presents all manner of vice as harmless, innocent, “everyone’s doing it,” “does God really say not to do it?” Once you have committed the sin, he stands ready to accuse you. Satan says, “You are an ingrate. God gives you all that you have and that’s not enough, so you take what doesn’t belong to you. You aren’t grateful for what you have because you hate the good thing He has given you and covet something else. You’re not worthy of love, forgiveness. Who do you think you are?” The devil is cunning and deceptive. He mixes truth with error to confuse and create doubt in what God has revealed.

Are you ready to stand against the schemes of the devil? Paul wrote to the Ephesians (6:12), “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” In other words, there is a cosmic battle occurring all around you. As a Christian, you are caught up in this battle. You can’t remain on the sideline because you are in it.

The first trick of the devil is to convince you that there is no cosmic battle. That will certainly keep you on the sidelines. But God has revealed through His word that there is a cosmic battle. He has revealed that, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” And He cautions you, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.” 1 Peter 5:8.

This cosmic battle is exactly what the passage from Revelation 12 is talking about. John’s vision reveals to us that there is a battle in heaven which has been cast down to earth. In this battle, the dark powers want to draw you away from God. They want you to put your trust in anything but Christ’s sacrifice for your sins. Trust in your wealth. Trust in your health. Trust in your great connections, or your big house, or your intelligence…trust in anything other than Christ. But Revelation says, “the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Louis Brighton, author of the Concordia commentary on Revelation says, “Satan’s accusations were rendered false by the victorious lamb.” That’s a good way of putting it and I will repeat. “Satan’s accusations were rendered false by the victorious lamb.”

The battle wages on and we must be cognizant of it. The one who is victorious is the one who puts his trust in God alone. Psalm 91:2, “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” That is the one who has childlike faith.

We live in a great country. We declared our independence from King George III 250 years ago and the rest is history. As Christians, we confess a declaration of dependence. We depend upon God because we are not able to withstand the schemes of the devil on our own. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1. In every circumstance, call upon the Lord and know that He hears you. Know that He hears and answers you. Know that He has armies of angels who minister to Him and carry out His will. Jesus said, “For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” The point is that God cares for every believer. Trust in Him.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Amen.