Childlike faith – not childish
I was walking Misty Mountain of Valley Hideaway (more commonly known as Misty), our border collie, around the neighborhood.
We encountered a mom and daughter out for a walk. The daughter was a toddler, barely able to walk, but she wanted to pet the “big doggie.”
With Mom’s permission, I knelt beside Misty, holding her tightly by the collar. The girl was a little shy, even though her mom told us that she had two dogs of her own at home.
She came a little closer, then she pulled up close to my friend, knowing that he would protect her from the “big doggie”. She worked up a little more nerve and moved up close to me for protection, but stayed away from Misty. When she was comfortable that we would protect her, she slowly reached out and gave the big doggie a pet.
She didn’t know us, but she had faith that we would protect her.
That’s the kind of faith we are called to have in God. A faith that trusts even when we don’t understand everything that’s happening.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “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. Matthew 18:1-4
A childlike faith, not childish faith. We have the Bible, and we have intellect. We can reason, study, and learn more about Him. There is a wealth of great Christian material out there to read, to listen to, and to watch, which can help us grow in our understanding. We can be childlike in our trust and mature in our understanding and practices.
It’s a balance. We don’t need to understand everything to accept His love. If we waited until we fully understood everything about God before trusting Him, it would never happen. We’ll never fully understand Him, after all He’s God and we’re not, nor will we ever be.
If we waited until we understood fully every detail of the Bible and all its implications before we trusted Him, we would never get there. Most of the Bible can be readily understood by you and me, but there are parts where godly men and women of great wisdom, intellect, and training can’t agree, or fully understand. There are areas of prophecy that no one will understand fully until after they happen.
At the same time, once we know Him, we are called to a deeper relationship with Him, and that comes from spending time with Him in prayer, study, and obedience.
Until next time, may you trust Him as a child does, but grow deeper and more mature in that relationship every day. Childlike, not childish. May your faith walk be childlike not childish.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed,
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.