Unwavering Childlike Faith
April 20, 2022·Anna Rachel Manlapaz
When it comes to the word “children” or “childlike,” what comes to your mind? Some of you might think: “young,” “innocence,” “cuteness,” “willful,” and maybe even “diaper change.” When I was reading this week’s Pause Bible reading, the description that came to me was “unwavering faith.”
Think of a child. It could be your own, your neighbor’s, or your younger self. Children have yet to learn much about the world and life. A child’s brain is like a sponge. It absorbs a lot of information at a time. So, children tend to believe whatever it is they are told. Especially three-year-olds. They trust wholeheartedly what their parents or any adult says. Based on a few child development studies, children don’t question “fact” until they get a little older. Hence, they have “unwavering faith” in the person’s words, true or not. According to a professor of psychology, Dr. Vikram Jaswal, his research shows that children develop this bias as a shortcut, because why else would they question what they’re told? It’s true anyway. No doubt. At least, that’s what is going on in that little head of a child.
Now, Jesus told us to be like children. He said in Matthew 18, “… Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like 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 18:3-4)
Not only does He tell us to be humble and teachable, but He tells us to also have “unwavering faith” in Him and His words. The words of man can be distorted and untrue, but God’s Word is truth, life-giving, and eternal. Seeking Him first, regardless of what situation you’re in, is unwavering faith. Also, if you prepare yourself to meditate on and receive His Word, absorbing it like a sponge to the point that it overflows, others can see Him through you. Mix them altogether, and you have become childlike.
And have you realized, it’s also a form of evangelism? You have become visual proof and a testament of His greatness to those around you. That’s the greatest thing in the Kingdom of heaven.
As you walk in your relationship with Jesus, how unwavering is your faith? Do you find yourself looking up to Him or down at your phone or tablet? Do you sing His praises, or do you search for answers on the web? Do you bring your petitions to Him first, or do you immediately call your best friend for advice instead? Is He the first thing you seek, or did you come to Him only after exhausting other options?
In this day and age, we have so many resources at a touch of a button. However, our greatest resource is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, which holds so much of what God wants us to learn. If you practice unwavering faith like a child, there’s a great chance that what you were looking for was in Him all along.
Anna Rachel Manlapaz
