Obtaining Freedom: Part 4 Childlike Faith

I believe this will be the final blog on this series of Obtaining Freedom! I told you I had a lot swirling in my head. Hopefully, it is all coming out in an understandable way.

Luke 18:16-17 ""Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

I think as Christians we all desire to grow deeper in our relationship with God. This verse has caused me to step back and say "Wow! What does it mean to be a child a God? What does it mean to be a mature Christian?" I truly believe that grasping this concept will help us in our journey of walking in freedom with Christ.

It all gets back to what I have been writing about this past week. How do we view God? Do we truly view Him as a good Father? If you can view Him as a good Father you will be able trust your Father's heart and you will come to Him in childlike faith.

I have the advantage of watching two beautiful children everyday. Here are some characteristics that I see in them that point to the idea of what it means to be a little child:

• No worries: My children do not worry because they know that their parents will provide for them.
• They easily forgive others: If you say your sorry, they forgive and move on. They do not hold onto things.
• They get over it: This always surprises me. If they are pouting about something I tell them to get over it and they do! At least, for me it can take me a whole day to get over something (what a waste!).
• Filled with joy! My kids amaze me. They laugh very often, they always have a smile on their face. They look at life with joy!
• Huge imaginations: My kids are always dreaming and then acting out their dreams. We have battles going on at our house all the time. They go hunting for huge bears with their swords and shields and they always win!
• Great confidence: I believe they know they are loved and because of this they head out in the world confident of who they are.
• Persistent: They are not afraid to ask for something. If they hear no, they keep asking. Often times their persistence works.
• Caring and thoughtful of others: They share. Yesterday they shared their donuts with me. The last bite of each donuts. Most people would view these as crumbs and gross but they were wanting to give something they enjoyed so I could enjoy too. It was very thoughtful!

Of course this is just the surface of what could be a very long list but I think it gives us an idea. This is how God wants us to walk with Him. This is what freedom looks like and we can have it even in our adult lives. We don't have to get somber, serious and quiet to be mature in Christ. Instead, what is the fruit of the Spirit? Love, JOY, Peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness and self-control.

I think we should step back and look at children to understand how to step forward in our faith. Like I said I think the first step is to ask, "Do we trust our Father's heart?" Once we can say with confidence that we trust His heart then we can step forward in the freedom that trust obtains for us. We can forgive others, enjoy the tasks we have in life and step forward confidently because we know who we are: sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.