Become like little children

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.”

Matthew 18:2-3

This verse was brought home to me several years ago.

At that time I was selling my house after my wife of almost 17 years had died. I had tried to make a go of it, but the expense was just too much for me. Sadly, I had made mistakes and was just getting out from under foreclosure, but didn’t know what was going to happen to my son Matthew and I.

The house was sold and we were packing up. I had a friend who’d offered to let us come and stay with him for a while, but after that, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was operating on very little sleep and I finally broke down sobbing. Matthew, who was around 10, came up to me, put his arms around me, and said, “Don’t worry Daddy, everything’s going to be alright.”

It came to me much later that was what Jesus was talking about in that verse from Matthew.

My Matthew had the faith of a child that his Daddy would get us through; that everything was going to be alright.

We are to trust in God, just as my son Matthew was trusting in me. We are to have faith that everything’s going to be alright.

The Book of Hebrews (11:1) tells us about faith:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

The writer goes on in verse 6 to say this:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

It is this kind of simple trusting faith that Jesus is telling us we must have; the simple faith of a child.

Later in Matthew 19:14 Jesus refers to Children again:

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

We are to come to Jesus as little children, trusting that He will take care of us. We are to have the faith of a child, no matter what happens to us in this world, faith that God is going make everything turn out alright.

One of the most famous verses in the Bible, Romans 8:28 say’s it best:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Jesus and God, through these verses and many others are telling us to trust Him to take care of us now and in the future. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, after counseling His followers about the future and the worries of this life:

But seek first his kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

We are told in the Bible over and over again, not to worry, to trust God to take care of us and He will.

Yes, I did lose my house, but God directed my path and Matthew and I found ourselves in the perfect twin home with just the right amount of space for us, all our stuff and our pets. Within a few years I was re-married to a wonderful lady, a better partner I couldn’t have asked for, not to mention a great Mom for Matthew. A few years after that, we had moved into a house that is so much nicer than the one I had to give up. God again had taken care of us.

Just as Matthew had said to me all those years ago, “…everything’s going to be alright.”

Back then, I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. I was too exhausted to even think straight, so I prayed to God, “I don’t know what to do so please take me by the nose, the ears or the hand and lead me to do what I need to do.”

And He did.

Like a little child, I let go and let God lead me and everything did work out alright.

He will lead you too. Put your faith in God, as I did so many years ago and give Him control. Let Him lead you to do the right things. He is ready, willing and able to take you where you need to go, to do the things you need to do, if you just let Him.

Give God a chance to take care of you, put your child’s hand in His and follow where HE leads.