Like a Child

So, this is the 2nd in my summer blog series on ‘Living from a Place of Rest’

In the last post ‘Let Go’ I talked a bit some of my past and how I developed some unhealthy mindsets and based a lot of my identity on what I achieved and pleasing people.

Here in Iceland I feel that I am in a process of ‘unlearning’ unhelpful mindsets. I will talk about ‘unlearning’ in my next post, but before that I want to focus on what it means to ‘become like a little child’. These few verses in Mark’s gospel are absolutely transforming my heart at the moment:

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it’. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:13-16)

On the surface, this passage has often been used simply to demonstrate that Jesus loves children. And that’s true! In the society of the day, children and women were the underdogs of society, having very few rights and reliant on men for their income. In the passage immediately before this one, Jesus talks about divorce and proclaims the rights and welfare of women, who were often easily divorced by men, leaving them with no income or care. Here, Mark, writing with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shows how Jesus also treats children as being of utmost importance in the Kingdom of God. (Remember that when we read a passage of scripture, there is always a link to the passages before and after which is often the key to unlocking the revelation it contains). So Jesus moves from promoting the value of women to promoting the value of children, just as the disciples are trying to usher the children away, presumably because they think Jesus has more important people to deal with (i.e men). So, the simple revelation from this passage is that Jesus welcomes and values children just as much as he does adults. However, there is a much deeper revelation here about how we are to live our journey with God, and it is this I want to focus on.

Jesus, using the children in his arms as a powerful visual aid, tells those listening that whoever does not RECEIVE the kingdom of God like a child shall not ENTER it.

This is huge. He is telling everyone that to enter the kingdom of God you have to become like the people in society who have the least rights and are treated as the least important. In fact you cannot ENTER the kingdom, without RECEIVING it.

Think for a moment about some young children you know, maybe your own kids or those of friends or family. Think about how they live life. They have no personal income, no ability to look after themselves, to make plans for their life, to be independent. They are completely reliant on their parents for EVERYTHING. They cannot bargain and use their skills or income to acquire anything. They cannot sign a job contract or open a bank account. All they can do is RECEIVE from their parents. Food, clothes, love, stimulation, education…the list goes on. None of this is earned, it is all RECEIVED. In a healthy family, the children have joy and simplicity, and a complete looking to their father and mother to give, show and teach them all they need to know. They do not try to devise schemes to plan for the future, because they know their parents are taking care of it.

Now go back and re-read the passage I quoted from Mark, keeping these thoughts about children in your head and heart.

Jesus says the kingdom of God can only entered by receiving it like a child. You cannot earn, or bargain your way in by your works or status or income or skills. That would be coming like an adult, instead Jesus invites us to come like a child. Empty handed, with nothing apart from eyes on your Father in heaven and an expectation he will take care of everything.

I realised when I was reading this that for much of my journey with God I have come to him as an adult son, not as a small child. I have assumed my relationship with God is a similar to my relationship with my parents now. My parents are loving and supportive, and I chat to them regularly and they give me help and encouragement. But I am a grown adult and I am no longer reliant on my parents for everything. I can take care of myself, make my own income, live my life how I want to live, while still maintaining a healthy relationship with my parents. This is all good and how it should be. BUT, when it comes to my relationship with God, I am not required to come as an adult son, but as a little child.

This is SO important, I’m going to say it again. We are not invited to come before God as an adult son or daughter, but as a small child. 

I realise now that my relationship with God has been similar to that as an adult with my parents, where I would speak to him regularly, gain encouragement and advice, feel loved and supported , BUT I would still remain independent and not reliant wholly on him for everything. I worked, had my savings, had plans for my life, made sure I stayed out of debt and tried my best to love others around me. I’m not saying it is wrong to have an income or savings of course. I’m not suggesting everyone reading this gives up their jobs or gives away all their savings. I actually believe God wants to trust us to be a good steward of finances. But if we are to enter the fulness of the Kingdom, and discover who God is and who we are, we need to come like a small child, whatever that means for you. The key is giving up our independence and right to do everything our way, and to be reliant on ourselves. That doesn’t mean we instead become reliant on others, but on God the Father.

For me, it has literally meant giving up my job, status, and savings and moving country to simply follow Jesus and the things he has put on my heart. Even then, it has taken me a while to make myself like a little child, and of course I am still learning. I now have no savings, a small income but much more freedom and joy than ever before and an increasing realisation that I can rely on God for everything. And when we start to receive God’s kingdom like a child, its much more fun than trying to be in control.

I’ll finish with a story of something which happened just a few days ago.

About a month ago I had been praying and really wanted to eat in a nice restaurant. I don’t have the income to do so, but love fine dining, just because of the creativity and flavours of food cooked by top chefs. When I had a good income in London, I could afford to eat out at a really nice restaurant once a month, but now I cannot do this from my own means. I prayed, like a small child reliant on his Father, that he would give me the opportunity to eat in a top restaurant in Iceland occasionally. So, a few days ago I was returning from taking a friend of mine home to a farm in the south of Iceland, about 2 hours away from Reykjavik. It was about midnight and on the way home I saw from a distance a car with its hazard lights on, pulled over to the side of the road. As I neared the car I realised two men were waving at me. I had to make one of those quick decisions on whether I stopped or not, but felt in my heart it was right to pull over and see if I could help. The two men asked if I was going to Reykjavik, and if they could come with me as their car had broken down and they needed to catch a flight to northern Iceland first thing in the morning. I welcomed them into the vehicle I was driving and drove them the hour or so back to Reykjavík. I chatted to them as I drove and they told me they were chefs who were cooking for the film director Ridley Scott and his film crew who are currently filming a movie in Iceland. The older man of the two was in charge of 10 other chefs cooking for a film crew of 350! He is also the owner of a top restaurant here in Iceland, cooking Icelandic cuisine. When I dropped them off at their house he told me he wanted to invite me to dine for free at his restaurant, a lobster dinner or whatever else I wanted! The restaurant is 10 minutes walk from where I live so I am going there in a few weeks to enjoy some fine dining

The point of me telling this story is that this whole thing never would have happened if I hadn’t positioned myself like a small child and come to the place of relying on God  for both my needs and my wants. I could have saved what I could each month and eventually after 6 months or so had enough to eat at a mid-range restaurant. But instead I came asking God he would make a way for me and I happen to randomly give a car ride to one of Iceland’s top chefs stranded in a remote location who gives me a personal invite to his restaurant. I could never have arranged that independently. Only me becoming more like a little child and resting in the arms of my Father in heaven can unlock these type of adventures and blessings! And its so much fun!

So I would just encourage you to meditate on the scripture above, and ask what prevents you from being like a small child? In what ways is your relationship with God more like that of an adult son or daughter  where you maintain most of your independence than a small child completely dependent on Him?

Do you spend a lot of time working out how to plan for your future and worrying how you are going to take care of yourself? Do you fear losing your independence and maybe if you’re honest that you can take care of yourself better than God can? I encourage you, from my own experience, to simply trust God, ask how you can become more child like, and where you act independently of Him out of fear or desiring to be in control. His perfect love will cast out all fear as you learn to rest, like a small child, in His arms.

I have SO much more to say on this! Watch out for another post very soon

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