On the Virtues of a Child

[Dancing]

"At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."" - Mat 11:26-30 NKJV

What does a child of the Heavenly Father look and act like?

I'd like to use this thread to pursue the answer to this question.

In the preceding verses, after reprimanding Charazin and Caperneum for their unbelief Yeshua speaks this prayer.

And just like His exhortation to the disciples to "let the children come to me", so, here He exhorts us all to come to Him with our heavy burdens. He asks us to "take My yoke upon you and learn from Me".

In the time of Yeshua's ministry, any rabbi's teachings were called his "yoke". Here Yeshua is offering deliverance to all those heavily burdened by the heavy yokes the pharisee and scribes placed on their disciples. His "yoke", that is, His teaching, is completely different. He asks us to 'learn from Him'.

I believe the most prominent characteristic of a child is his/her ability to trust. That's the first thing. And with that kind of child-like trust the next step is to listen and obey with simplicity.

This kind of simplicity is spoken of in Romans 10:

"But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."" - Rom 10:6-11 NKJV

This passage is usually made to speak of initial salvation and this is right. But even more so, the deeper significance here is the simple trusting of God and His Word and the willingness to humbly call on Him for every need.

Our God hears and answers. This is the happy life of a child of God.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Dancing

I believe the most prominent characteristic of a child is his/her ability to trust. That's the first thing. And with that kind of child-like trust the next step is to listen and obey with simplicity.

And I'm all for you doing that. You go girl!

[Dancing]

Trust What?

What’s obvious to one is not necessarily obvious to another. And if trusting is such a crucial matter then it’s imperative we know who to trust. After all we’ve been through it’s the “trust thing” that’s hurt us the most.

In order to be rescued from false leaders or anyone who would deceive us we must know the One Who can save us, protect us, direct us, preserve us, and lead us on in His grand purpose. There is One Who has promised to keep us if we keep His Word. And that brings us to another potential problem… What is His Word? Is it something someone else tells us? Can we ever entrust ourselves to another for guidance? for teaching?

The key to the answer is so simple that it’s missed amidst all the complexities and intricacies of the thoughts of “intelligent men*”. Yes, the Lord praised His Father for revealing a most profound truth to “babes” (Matt 11:26-27)! The little children who trust in Him are the ones who would know who He truly was! And likewise, Paul admonished us to become foolish, if we think we’re wise, lest we also miss Him.

If there is not one source of truth we are all doomed to go round and round in busy but futile intellectual dances, exhibiting our mental prowess for all to see and admire. However, the exercise is tiring, especially when the answers are still not found. For consider God’s character. Shall we make Him as a Greek god, one who toyed with men, aiding or destroying mankind according to its wim? NO! Our source of truth is the Lord God who made heaven and earth. The God of the Bible. His word can be trusted. His word alone is true. No matter if ones refute His truth. Rather, as Paul so aptly put it,

"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." - Rom 3:4 KJV

He is justified in all his “sayings”. No matter that men, putting themselves above Him, judge Him and His Word. He will overcome. His word alone will stand. It is in Him and His Word ALONE that a child of God trusts. Every man's word must be stacked up against God's word. Whatever comes short of it, whatever denies it, must be firmly rejected.

*I use the term “man” or “men” according to the Biblical sense, ie., including male and female.