It has often struck me that many people assume that “faith like that of a little child” is one that simply accepts what is said, without questioning. This interpretation assumes that the child in question is of a certain type and age. However, more common to our experiences of childhood (whether our own or that of our children) is the tendency not to accept everything, but to question everything and always ask why. It is the child that points out that the emperor has no clothes on. If we ignore these elements of a child-like disposition, surely we will end up construing such faith as something other than – and perhaps the exact opposite of – what it is.
In the original context in which Jesus held up little children as an example, the most likely emphasis was on their status as ‘nobodies’, rather than on anything to do with their attitude. Nevertheless, many great minds have pointed out that our loss of the ability to ask fundamental ‘why’ questions about very basic elements of our world and the way it works often leaves us failing to pursue the most promising lines of inquiry and investigation that will lead us to a better understanding.
So my recommendation is this: let us continue to hold up child-like faith as a positive example, but let us not forget what children are actually like, in their blunt statements of things adults would like to conveniently ignore, and in their ever-questioning “WHY?”
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In