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Obedience and Faith Like a Child

2007 January 17
tags: , , , , , , , ,
by Charles Churchill

This line of speculation started a while back when a friend posted a Quick Faith Quiz on his blog, wherein he asked:

  1. When Jesus talks about “faith like a child,” what does he have in mind?
  2. Is “child-like faith” different from “normal faith?” (Assuming, in this case, that normal faith is the healthy, 100% supernatural stuff that was good enough for Moses, Elijah, David and everyone else who has been, will be, or are being saved by grace.)
  3. Or should we assume that faith like a child is, well, the one kind of faith that God is after?
  4. That is, either you have this kind of faith, which Christ said will inherit the kingdom of heaven, or you don’t have faith at all?

I think of “faith like a child” to mean obedience without context. Scripture says that we add to faith, virtue. This suggests to me that faith comes before we can understand sufficiently to choose/discern goodness. Before that point, we are obeying without understanding. I tell my son in church to sit down and to be quiet, but he does not yet know that his activity and his noise is disturbing others. But if he is obedient, the effect is the same as if he saw he was disturbing and closed his mouth. Later on, he’ll know and can choose to act virtuously (or not). But faith must come first or else it’s my son’s own brand of filthy rag righteousness. Or in other words, without faith, it is impossible to please God (through obedience to his Word).

Does this make sense to anyone else? What is your take on “faith like a child”?

from → Christianity, Fathers

  • Charles,

    I would rather say that as we mature in our faith our faith matures precisely in that child-like direction. Why? Because when we are saved, we are His children. To mature means to live that out more, therefore manifest the childlike attributes. BTW, I would like to add innocence to the list. In the end it is not us who add to the faith anything, but God, who has given us everything and molds us so that all that we are - including understanding and virtue - integrates into that faith, yet making us in every respect more child-like.

    ummadam,

    I think that firm and unalloyed faith in the existence of God is prerequisite to any kind of faith. But we cannot really say that it would be faith - the satan has has firm and unshakable belief in God, but do we say that he believes God? Or wants to obey? No, to speak about child-like faith is to speak about faith that involves a personal relationship between the believer and the one s/he believes in.
  • I am a Muslim, however, I agree that faith must come first. One should have unshakable belief in the existence of God, for unless a man has a firm and unalloyed faith in God’s existence, how can he render obedience to Him?
  • outtolumo,
    I think these are all ways that a child's faith manifest itself and as such are quite interesting. I think I agree with you in that saving faith is child-like, but I think once we are saved, our faith matures as we add to it virtue and knowledge.

    Thanks for stopping by,
    Charles
  • I think you have a point here. However, I would go further, and say that child-like is also helpless, depending, surrendering, and adoring faith. The list is just to give the idea, not complete.

    Helpless in the sense that as soon as child is afraid, he turns to his father for protection. Depending in the sense that in need the child turns to his father for provision. Surrendering in the sense that whatever the child sees his father to do he thinks is the right and best way to do, surrendering his own judgement on good and evil. finds himself before a daunting task he turns to his father. Adoring in the sense that "My dad is the best".

    Now I will answer to the questions 2-4. No, I think child-like faith is the normal faith we have all been called to live true in our lives. But is it the ONLY kind of faith our Father is after? Well, yes and no. The only kind of faith our Father is after is faith that He has made in us, and that is child-like. Not all child-like faith is what he seeks for. And even when our faith might not seem too child-like, it would only be because our sinful flesh is veiling its true essence.

    As for what Jesus meant when talking about the child-like faith, I would answer that he was talking about the faith that is work of God is us and describing what it is like.
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