Fariza

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:2-4

Of all the things Jesus said, this might be one of the most radical: that we must become like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

No one else had ever spoken this way. No prophet, religious leader, or philosopher had ever claimed that human beings could have such a close and intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.

When you first begin your journey of getting to know God, this can be difficult to understand, but the closer you are to God, the more it starts to make sense.

I spent several years working with children, observing them while meditating on the words of Jesus, often thinking to myself, There is no way You actually want me to be like this.

But the more I expereince the grace of God in my life, the more childlike I become, and the more Matthew 18:2-4 begins to make sense.

So why does God want us to be like children? What is it about children that Jesus saw as so important that our salvation depends on it?

Let’s examine it.

Children Are Fearless

Have you ever watched kids play? Like, really watch them play.

They run headfirst into things with zero sense of personal safety. Kids jump, slide, sprint, fall, fall again, get back up, and keep running. They will bump their heads on the concrete floor just to see what happens. Children have no concept of self-preservation.

They are fearless.

They scream and laugh and express every emotion without pausing to wonder what anyone thinks of them. Kids, for the most part, don’t feel shame unless someone points it out.

Children live freely!

They trust the adult in the room completely, and they don’t need to protect themselves because someone else is doing it for them.

This is why children should always remind the adults of the type of trust we need to have in our Heavenly Father. We must be so anchored in the knowledge that our Father is watching over us that we stop living in fear, anxiety, shame, or condemnation.

And if we ever fall (and you will many times in life) and hurt ourselves, our Father comes rushing to us with a Band-Aid, ready to wipe our tears, hug us, and offer a snack.

That is what faith actually looks like.

Children Are Brutally Honest

If a child tells you, “You look ugly,” you probably do. If they think your shoes or outfit is ugly, it probably is, and they will say it straight to your face with no malice, calculation, agenda, or any hesitation whatsoever.

Children don’t have the social machinery yet to be dishonest. They say what they see, exactly as they see it. They are innocent in the truest sense — naive and uncorrupted. There is no scheming underneath their words.

Children will say exactly what they feel. They rarely think about the consequences of their words because they have not fully comprehended the weight of sin. As they grow older, they begin to learn to curate themselves – to manage their impressions to protect themselves with half-statements.

And unfortunately, we later bring that baggage into our relationship with God. Our prayers become sanitized, sin gets hidden, the full truth concealed, and hearts closed because we assume that punishment awaits us.

That’s not how God operates; Jesus calls us to total transparency and authenticity, no matter how messed up and broken we are. He sees everything anyway. What’s the point of hiding anything from Him? He sees your heart from the inside out and knows how many hairs are on your head. What makes you think your mess will be a surprise to Him?

God wants you to be genuine with Him.

He wants you to go back to the childlike simplicity of being real and brutally honest with Him. He welcomes it!

Children Forgive and Forget Quickly

Have you ever noticed how quickly kids get over their fights with each other? One minute, there are tears and punches; seconds later, the two people who hated each other’s guts are best friends again, going back to playing as if nothing happened.

Children don’t hold grudges or get offended for too long. They feel the hurt, they express it fully, and then they let it go, because holding on never occurs to them.

Jesus calls us to that same speed of release. Not a grudging, teeth-gritted forgiveness that still replays the wounds at 2:00 am, but a genuine forgiveness and letting go.

Done. Forgiven. Moving on.

Children Throw Tantrums

Let’s be honest, children can be spectacularly manipulative when they want something. The tears, the drama, the complete collapse on the floor at the grocery store, all in hopes that it will get them what they want.

But here is what’s interesting: once their need is met, the manipulation evaporates. Soothed, comforted, and seen, the tantrum is over.

Sometimes God deals with us the same way, and He is very good at it.

He is just and disciplines those whom He loves often, but sometimes He lets us have the very thing we demanded so we can learn firsthand why it wasn’t what we needed. Sometimes He gives us undeserved grace, lets us calm all the way down, and then gently, lovingly shows us where we went wrong. That quiet moment of understanding after the storm, that’s when true repentance happens. No shame or guilt, just pure love and a heart that sees clearly.

And like children who haven’t yet learned to name their emotions, we often act out in pain instead of simply telling God what we need. We haven’t learned to say, “I’m scared. I don’t understand. I need you.” So we cry, we push, and perform.

But the beauty of our Father is that He is not fazed by any of it. God is patient —far more patient than we deserve. The Lord takes His time to sanctify us while we throw our endless tantrums. God is never in a rush; we are the ones who are always in a hurry.

And lastly,

Children Love Their Parents Unconditionally

A child’s entire world is their parent.

They show off for them, they run to them, they get good grades and trophies for them. They want to be near their parents constantly. Their love is unguarded, unfiltered, and completely without agenda. Children don’t love their parents because of what they get in return; they love them because it’s the most natural thing in the world.

That is how we are called to come before God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who created us in His image. We must have the same love for Him as we do for our parents. In fact, it has to be so much greater that our love for our earthly parents looks like hate in comparison.

We have to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength because He is worth it. His love is what sustains us, and He is constantly reaching towards us to offer more of it.

Remember, the very breath we breathe belongs to Him.

Therefore, let us come before Him with humble hearts, not with a polished performance or perfectly arranged theology but with wide-open, child-like, wholehearted enthusiasm and worship.

All glory to Him!