Faith's Faith

My little sister is one smart cookie. That girl blows me away every day, and despite her age, is teaching me as well. Her and I work on Bible lessons together, and it's exciting to see Faith understanding, remembering, and even applying! But out of the realm of organized lessons, she is the teacher sometimes. And something of recent that she has taught me, is child-like faith. In Mark 10 some children are trying to get to Jesus, but are rebuked by the disciples. Jesus's response is such in Mark 10:14-15 "But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.'"

One of Faith's friends has recently gotten an injury, and so we pray for her together. But what stands out to me is her trust and faith. We will be asking God to heal this friend, and after she says "Amen" Faith will say something along the lines of "Nanny, she feels better!". She trusts that when she asks for something, God will grant it to her. Now I'm not saying that we should expect Him to answer immediately (delayed gratification is a good thing) and we definitely should not expect it will always be "our way" that He brings about an answer...but we should always remember that He is listening, and have trust in Him to take care of it.

Having faith like a child bubbles down to their complete trust. I also want to point out that by "child-like faith" I do not mean to say immaturity, or lack of growth. Those are not good things to be content with, but many qualities of the heart of a child are contrarily good to have.

Children believe without hesitation who provides for them. If a child is taught that God created everything and is in control of their lives, they will most likely believe it (because even to children, God is the one who grants understanding). Children are very mold-able and impressionable. Sometimes we lean on our own understanding, or don't accept things we can't fully understand, instead of resting in the fact that God's got it all under control. In Isaiah 40:12 it tells us that God holds the entire universe, all known existence, inside the palm (or span) of his hand. Um wow. Yet we are constantly reverted to the thought that we know better than God, or think we are the ones in control. Ever feel convicted or dumb just hearing that? I certainly do. We should be like this..in Proverbs 3:5 Solomon says "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding". That is what I think of when I think about having faith like a child.

I think it is safe to say that Faith will continue teaching me things without intent..after all, she does it quite often! I'm very thankful to be her big sister, and I pray that God will use me to teach her as much as she teaches me. It's a fun thought to imagine (Lord willing of course) her being 10 or 15 years older, looking back on documented things of her childhood.. and I sure hope she is okay with me using her example all the time. I do it pretty often :) So if you're reading this, future Faithy, thank you. I love you to pieces and I'm blessed to be your "Nanny".