A CHILD-LIKE SPIRIT

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  (Matthew 19:14 NIV)

Faith is sometimes equated with credulity, but it can be so equated only when the profound mistake is made of thinking of faith as primarily a matter of intellectual assent.  As the New Testament uses the word, faith is trust, acceptance, commitment, vision.  It is not a belief in this or that creed, it is a quality which lies rather in the realm of intuition than the intellect. Faith has indeed an element of true simplicity; it is one of the qualities -- perhaps the fundamental quality -- of the child-like spirit without which no one can enter the Kingdom of God. 

-- Anonymous, attributed to Charles Wesley, from “Christian Quotation of the Day” 

#6413

CHILD-LIKE, TRUSTING FAITH

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them.”  (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)

Faith is sometimes equated with credulity, but it can be so equated only when the profound mistake is made of thinking of faith as primarily a matter of intellectual assent.  As the New Testament uses the word, faith is trust, acceptance, commitment, vision.  It is not a belief in this or that creed, it is a quality which lies rather in the realm of intuition than the intellect.  Faith has indeed an element of true simplicity; it is one of the qualities -- perhaps the fundamental quality -- of the child-like spirit without which no one can enter the Kingdom of God. 

-- Author Unknown

#6178