“And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:3
My child is five, but she is not too young to know God.
Your children may be young, but they are not too young to know God.
In fact, Jesus says we will have become more like our young children if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven.
I certainly want my daughter to love God and enter his kingdom.
Do you want your children to enter God’s kingdom?
Sometimes when I look at my five-year-old daughter, I see what Jesus was talking about in this passage from Matthew.
She believes her parents love her.
She trusts her parents can help her.
She understands the consequences of good and bad actions.
She asks her parents sincere questions believing that we know the answers.
She marvels at the beauty of the world.
These are the very traits I want to live out as a disciple of Christ:
A belief that my Heavenly Father loves me.
A belief that my Heavenly Father can help me.
An understanding of the effects of my behavior.
A sincere heart that seeks wisdom from my Heavenly Father.
Eyes that see the ways the world declares my Heavenly Father’s glory.
But as much as I want to be like a little child, my daughter wants to be like me. When I fail to live a life worthy of Christ, I see her imitating my frustration, doubt, and jadedness.
Since March 2020, I have spent much more time with my daughter, and I have seen her mature and begin to ask questions about God and the world. ‘
They are tough questions: about why we can’t attend church in person, about why so many people are getting sick, about how God can help in this time of need.
I want my daughter to know and love God. I want her to keep her childlike faith and to begin to seek a relationship with God for herself.
That begins with my own relationship with God.
In this blog, I will be writing about my own daily experiences — triumphs and failures — in being a father and husband in the midst of a pandemic. I will also be asking people I respect about how they’re ministering to children in this unprecedented time. I want to share what I’m learning about God and what, in turn, my wife and I are sharing with our daughter.
I want to grow up to be a kid in God’s kingdom. I pray the same for my daughter.
What do you want for your children?