42 “And if anyone causes one of these little
ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into
the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.”
- Mark 9:42, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
During the time I went to college my wife and I both had the opportunity to work at Bethesda Lutheran Home in Watertown, Wisconsin. As some of you know, Bethesda is a facility devoted to serving children and adults who are developmentally, and often also physically, disabled. The lessons learned there about the intrinsic worth, dignity and uniqueness of every human being were many. But probably the most impressive lesson learned by anyone who spent any time at all out there was a lesson in faith. Simple, child-like faith.
For instance, one day as I was wheeling a young man (whom I’ll call Richy) down the hall, I stopped at a picture of Jesus. Being the ministry student that I was at the time, I thought I’d perhaps give him a lesson in basic Christianity, so I asked him, "Richy, do you know who that is?" "That’s Jesus," he answered quickly. What I’ll never forget is the look he gave me. It was a look of surprise and pity at what I’m presuming was the thought that I’d asked the question because I didn’t know what he knew. And he felt badly for me. Someone indeed learned a powerful lesson in that brief little encounter. But it wasn’t Richy.
Then there was David. David was a little boy whose condition had worsened to the extent that he couldn’t be in a wheelchair anymore. He had to lie in a specially built cart. How sad, we think. A miserable existence, we say. But all day long from that cart you could hear David’s little, brittle voice floating down the hallway, singing: "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." And many times when the pressures of college life seemed to be closing in on me, in my mind’s eye I’d find myself going back to that cart and letting little David be my master teacher on the things that really matter.
Then there was the warning given to all the ward parents (that’s what we were called) not to tell the residents when we were sick or not feeling well. The reason wasn’t what you might expect. It was not because they would become paranoid about catching germs or getting sick themselves. No, it was because if we told them there was the very real possibility that they would still be praying for our recovery long after our health had returned…
Child-like faith. On the basis of our Savior’s words found in the Gospel of Mark, this is what we’d like to talk about this morning:
CHILD-LIKE FAITH
1. Its qualities
2. Its blessings
Hanging on the walls of many Christian homes is a picture of Jesus with little children. It’s not hard to understand why artists have chosen this theme. Children were mentioned in our Gospel lesson for last Sunday; children are mentioned in our Gospel lesson for today; and children will be mentioned in the Gospel reading for next Sunday. The Gospels make it clear: Jesus dearly loved children.
In the verse serving as our text we see firsthand Jesus’ fierce love for His "little ones." He issues a strong, stern and graphic warning to anyone who might cause them spiritual harm. Of significance for our purposes today is the way He talks about these children. He refers to them as "little ones who believe in Me." In the next chapter of Mark, at a different time and place, He expands upon that thought. Holding up children as examples of faith, He says: "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it" (Mark 10:15).
His point: The faith of a child – that 1) simple, 2) humble, 3) unquestioning and 4) trusting faith that believes the message of salvation and all to the other promises of God without a hint of hesitation – that is the kind of faith Jesus holds up as the model for our imitation. Let’s now briefly examine the qualities of faith which Jesus speaks of so highly by looking at the adjectives I just used to describe it…
A child-like faith if first of all SIMPLE. As you observe the faith of a child you’ll find this to be true. But while it may be simple, it is not shallow. In fact, it is very complete in the sense that such a faith knows all that is really and essentially important to know.
What I mean is this: A young child raised in a Christian home may not be able to give you a thumbnail sketch of each book of the Bible, and it is highly unlikely that you’ll find a Greek or Hebrew Bible on their nightstand as they pour through Scripture in the original. They may not possess that kind of academic knowledge. But what they do know is the same thing little David from Bethesda knew: Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
What they do know is that long ago on a hill outside of a city they’ve never been to named Jerusalem Jesus died on a cross to take awake all their sins. And they know why: So they would be clean and pure in the eyes of God and someday live with Him forever in heaven.
What they also know is that Jesus didn’t stay dead, but that He rose from the grave. And they know Him to be their invisible but living friend who listens intently to them when they talk to Him in their prayers.
Those are the elementary, rudimentary truths of Scripture. Nothing complicated or complex about them. The child Jesus holds up as an example simply takes at face value the truths God tells us in His Word. A child-like faith is SIMPLE.
Likewise, A child-like faith is HUMBLE. When problems come it looks upward rather than inward for solutions. We live in a world which instructs us to "look inside ourselves" for answers to our difficulties. And certainly we do have a responsibility to apply the Word of God we’ve been taught to our various situations in life. But those with a child-like faith know that the power to change things comes not from within, but from without. Not from inside us, but from above us.
Our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln governed our country during the Civil War. This was an extremely difficult time for him personally. He is reported to have made the remark that the war often "forced him to his knees." Children don’t let things go that far. The child-like faith humbly approaches the throne of grace well before the crisis point, recognizing that God is good and God is great and God is ever-present to help us in every situation. A child-like faith is HUMBLE.
The third element of a child-like faith is that it is UNQUESTIONING. Those of us who have raised children know that when it comes to life they can indeed be inquisitive, but when it comes to Bible truth they are most often unquestioning. Little children don’t generally ponder deep philosophical questions. They don’t look for ways to interject their reason into Scripture, nor do they tend to be personally dismissive toward the areas they can’t understand or make them uncomfortable. Whether it is the miracles, the instructions or the promises of God as they apply to their lives, they look to the Word with the unquestioning understanding that God has spoken and that He is in control…
A child like faith may be inquisitive when it comes to knowing more about what God says, but it is UNQUESTIONING when it learns that God has spoken.
Finally, a child-like faith is TRUSTING. Think once more of a child, this time at prayer. What a precious sight, and what a picture of trust. They trust that the Lord will hear them and that He is capable of doing everything they ask of Him.
A good Scriptural example of this aspect of faith can be found in the Old Testament figures Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (perhaps better known as the "Three Men in the Fiery Furnace"). Remember their story? For refusing to bow down and worship a man as they would God, they were threatened with being thrown into a fiery furnace. Their response? They said, "Go ahead. We trust our God can save us from whatever you want to do to us. But even if He doesn’t choose to save us, we still won’t do it."
Whether God would save them, they were unsure. That God could save them, they had no doubt. And so they went forward with the implicit trust that God would take care of them one way or another. With that trust they exhibited a child-like faith.
Simple… humble… unquestioning… trusting. These are the elements of a child like faith. These are the components that Jesus holds up before us when He speaks about the "little ones who believe in Me." In this same child-like way Jesus invites, counsels and asks us to trust Him, His Word, His promises and His offer of salvation.
And we say, yes, we really ought to do that. But we say it more in the wistful terms of a wish or a dream, as if it would be nice, but it’s really not possible. Too simplistic, we may think. Trust Jesus and everything will work out. Sounds great, but life is bit too complicated to reduce handling it in such an uncomplicated way…
And that, friends, is our biggest mistake. It is the mistake of not taking Jesus at His Word. Because when it gets right down to it, taking Him at His Word is what Jesus means by "child-like faith."
Let me give you one more Scriptural example of this. If anyone can lay claim to having a complicated life, it would have been King David. As the ruler of Old Testament Israel in its golden age of power and influence, every decision, problem and concern eventually came to roost at his doorstep. Nonetheless, listen to the inspired words this man wrote in Psalm 131. The child-like attitude of this hero of faith is one we’d do well to imitate…
Read Psalm 131
These are the words of a man who did not question the Lord; a man who came before the Lord in humility, confidence and trustfulness. They are words for us all…
So, do we find ourselves worried? Are we anxious about life? Are we scared of what that great unknown we call the future might bring? If and when we are, our primary problem is probably this: we’re acting altogether too much like adults.
Jesus says be a child. Trust. Believe. Take a lesson from the residents of Bethesda, as my wife and I and others who worked with them did. Then we can relax in the know-ledge that no matter how things may look or how things may go, God has them under control.
I’d like to close this morning with a prayer that pretty well sums up what we’ve been talking about today. It’s in the form of a poem…
Make me, O Lord, a child again
So tender, frail and small
In self, possessing nothing
In Thee, possessing all.
O Savior, make me small once more
That downward I may grow
And in this heart of mine restore
The faith of long ago.
With Thee may I be crucified
No longer I that lives
O Savior, crush my sinful pride
By grace, which pardon gives.
Make me, O Lord, a child again
Obedient to Thy call;
In self, possessing nothing,
In Thee, possessing all.
Amen.