I've been wanting to write this post for a long time now. To talk about children and their faith, and how it's so effortless. As adults we ponder and think over every last detail of what the Bible says, but as children faith is just so effortless.
Through the course of events our family has endured over the last year, my oldest daughter has asked me so many times what Heaven is like, and asked when she can go to be with the people she knows up there and loves. She never questions if it's real, where it is, how it works to "get in" or any other questions that ramble through an adult head when thinking of heaven. Her faith is blind, there is no question she isn't getting to heaven, no question that Jesus isn't real, and no question that people in heaven are watching over her.
Children amaze me with their ability to learn and establish a loving relationship with the Lord early on in their lives, and continue that love for years, throughout their lifetime. I wonder though, HOW does that strong of a faith build? HOW does a child know that they know that they know Jesus is real? The same reason they believe in the tooth fairy, or Santa Clause, or the boogey man. Stories they've been told and the blind faith they have gives them the ability to just simply believe.
Children depend on us to show them how to act and behave and believe in the world. We are their compasses. God gives us all the incredible talent to be able to lead a child, if we choose to do so that is. I absolutely love talking to my daughter about faith and God, and she loves it too. Without the brain of adult to add in her own reasoning she can believe, or without her own logic, she can believe.
Whenever I seem to be having a bad day, or thinking doubtful thoughts, I always look to this picture (which hangs at my desk at work):
This is my daughter. Praising. It is one of the most beautiful pictures I have of her and I remember the day vividly. Although we weren't "Christians" at the time, this was a period where I was starting to make my transition. Watching her dance through the rain and jump in the puddles and just praising what a fun day she was having and saying "thank you" to the rain clouds for still letting the sun shine. Just effortless praise and thanks to things around her. This image is one of my rocks. One of the things that brings me back to having "childlike faith." It's effortless, careless, loving, hopeful, cherished and faithful.
Sometimes as adults we forget what it's like to be like a child. To think like a child. To throw out the baggage and just believe. Just have FAITH. All that being said, don't be afraid to throw the baggage out. Don't be afraid to just blindly say "OK" and jump in with both feet. I believe it's when we blindly follow our faith that the best outcomes occur.
