Title: A childlike Heart
Scripture: 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
I mentioned to some children some time ago that I was taking them to the Movie theatre. Without any doubt in their heart, they believed me. They had not considered the cost, the logistic or the factors that could affect the event. They were children. With their whole heart they simply believed. There are some key characteristic of a childlike heart I would like to discuss in this devotional, as many of us have lost our childlike innocence
FAITH: A childlike heart is a heart of faith; simple and trusting without doubt or suspicion. The Lord wants us that without this childlike faith, we will not enter the Kingdom of God. The Lord wants us to have a simple childlike faith in Him and His promises. We can receive great blessings from God.
FORGIVENESS: A child like heart will accept forgiveness easily. It doesn’t bear grudges. Children don’t analyze past experiences in detail like we do as adults. Whatever problems they had during the day are erased by a good nights’ sleep, and the next morning they are reset. We as adults need to develop the ability to let things go. Life is way too short to let past pains, betrayals, and disappointments linger in our minds.
TEACHABLE :A childlike heart is a heart of humility and is teachable. They ask honest questions. We often forget this as adults because we ask questions with ulterior motives, meant to challenge, designed to undermine or embarrass. Children are not like this. They are just eager to know truth. A child is always eager to learn new things. The Lord reveals His secrets to those who have a childlike heart. Those who consider themselves very wise and knowledgeable will not be humble enough to learn. We must be teachable and hungry like a child for the revelations from the Lord.
TRANSFORMATION :A childlike heart is a heart which can be transformed. A child sees no differences of race, class, colour, status etc. Children are friendly among themselves without noticing their differences. It is easy to train, mold and shape a child. The Lord wants us to wants to transform us into the image of Christ. If we do not become childlike in our hearts, it would be very difficult for the Lord to transform our lives.
LEARNING:A childlike heart is a heart which is hungry for spiritual nourishment. Hunger is a sign of good health. If we have lost our spiritual hunger, it is a sure sign of a spiritual malady in our lives. However, the Lord also wants us to grow up and learn to take solid food and strong meat. We should not always live on milk, but we must progress and grow into taking strong meat which are the deep truths of the word of God.
Prayer Point
- Father, create in me a clean heart that is pleasing and acceptable to you
- Father, uproot whatever you have not planted within me
- Father, glorify your name in my life in Jesus name
