What it means to have a childlike faith.

I would like to say that the revelation I’m about to share came from deep study and prayer (eventually it did!) but the initial ‘wow’ moment was just watching our children play. How awesome that God speaks in those times as much as when we’re sat studying and praying.

My friend has the most beautiful little boy and he recently began to walk. It was while I sat watching him that I realised that it’s a perfect example to portray childlike faith.

Jesus asks for us to remain childlike because we are born to believe that our parents are omniscient – yup parents; your child expects you to know everything all the time (which explains the 10,000 questions a day I guess). But this I believe is key to the whole understanding of this idea.

If you watch a child that is learning to walk, they cruise along the furniture, initially really proud of themselves for getting up and doing something different. But when they come to learn how to walk and they take those first tentative steps then the faith really kicks in.

Anybody who has children or been around small children will know how exciting it is when a child is stood facing their parent and holds their arms out all wobbly and manages just to take those few small steps into their mum/ dads arms. Knowing that our children believe that we are omniscient and trust wholeheartedly in us makes that possible.

Children are born with total trust and reliance on their parents and slowly realise that they’re not always perfect, they don’t always have the answers.

If we learnt to walk as an adult when some of that faith had been stripped away would those steps look the same? Perhaps this is why we struggle with the concept of becoming childlike- we know that nobody has all the answers, nobody really wants what is best for us 100% of the time right? But if we could just go back to accepting and not questioning Gods reliability and steadfastness then I believe we’d all be like little children taking those tentative steps with our gaze totally transfixed on our parent (God).

Even if we don’t always hear the answers we want or fully understand what is going on we don’t have to lose that trust like a small child would- because we know that God is always faithful and always there wanting the very best.

Childlike faith doesn’t ask for answers and understanding, it just asks Him to understand and be there…

Kirsty x

Your Church needs ‘you’

What if we are all attending Church for the wrong reasons?

I’m not talking about only going to Church for the worship or the preacher or our friends… we all know they’re not reasons to be in a particular Church.

What about those who go to Church and don’t stop to consider why?

Yes we all need to go and hear the word and be ministered to and I would never argue with that obviously.

But what about the reason ‘you’ are called to your church?

I don’t believe for a second you are there to keep a seat full (or warm)

We are all aware that the Church is the body of Christ right? But what does that mean in practice?

There are obviously the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12)- we each have different ones and different ways of discerning certain situations yes and that is incredible!

But your Church needs ‘you’.. not just your giftings. You are just as important as any of those on the ‘leadership teams’.
As a body is made up of several different parts the Church is made up of several different people with different giftings, experiences and personalities. So why does your church need you?

It needs your honesty and vulnerability.

It desperately needs your willingness to relate to people where others cannot.

Your pastor can’t do it all- if you’ve been through a tough situation you will probably have needed somebody that could relate to that.. ‘you’ are that person in your church.

You are the single mum who new single mums come to chat to when they face tough times and need somebody that ‘gets it’

You are the guy who has overcome an addiction that your pastor knows will hold others accountable.

You are the married couple who went through really tough times and now have the knowledge enough to help others.

 

Please don’t go to church just for you… go and be you.