Children’s Hearts

The innocence and credulity of a child is a characteristic of this beautiful, "happy-go-lucky" age. No one has told you to worry about your food and drink and job when you were born. Nevertheless, afterwards you’ve seen that all around are worried about something – their work, their reputation and so on. All these things are needed, yet there are some characteristics we shouldn’t lose in our way to maturity. For instance it is good to lose credulity but to keep an innocent heart and mind.

It is good to grow in knowledge but not let it get to your head and turn you into a beast. The apostle Paul Brothers advice is" Stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults." 1 Corinthians 14:20

How catchy is a child’s smile! Look at the children in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. They bring a smile to your face with their sweet smile, don’t they? Also if there is an argument between them, in a few minutes they are back together again, continuing their play. They don’t hold the grouch inside; they manage to solve their conflicts and tensioned situations easier than we, the adults do.

Jesus Himself gave children as examples "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." Mathew 18

God Himself loves children, and as Elizabeth Stone said -"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body" – God decided to have His heart beat for us too. He proved that through His Son Jesus Christ, Who gave us a demonstration of what true love is, HE took our place in death so that we wouldn’t have to die.

I also love the way Leo Rosten describes the fact that we all are children: "You can understand and relate to most people better if you look at them - no matter how old or impressive they may be - as if they are children. For most of us never really grow up or mature all that much - we simply grow taller. O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales."

"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become." Louis Pasteur

If men love their children, God, our Father loves us even more and HE will never forget us, not forsake us! Here is one of the ways He describes His love towards His children: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49: 15-16

We all cherish children, but more than we can give or demonstrate our love towards our own offspring, God, our Real Father is ready to pour His love upon the life of each of us. Just as a father cannot make his child understand all his ways, the same way we don’t always understand why God allows certain things in our lives. But HE really does it for our ultimate benefit; we must learn to trust Him just as we trusted our parents when we were born, without hesitation.