Becoming Like A Child

UV 4180/10000 Becoming Like A Child And said, “ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent ( that is, change your inner self- your old way of thinking, live changed lives) and become like children ( trusting, humble, and forgiving), you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18 v 3 Repentance is a complete change of direction, change of heart, change of priorities, change of attitudes. We need to be humble and gentle like Jesus. Like a child, we need to be egoless, sans pride, sans deceit. We need to learn to forgive people who offend us from the heart and hold no grudges against anyone. This kind of transformation can come only after a deep work in us by the Lord using His chisels, the word, suffering and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us who believe. He needs to chip away at our angularities, rough edges, flaws and traces of our old self with its pride and lust. It does not however mean that we should be guileless, gullible or naive for elsewhere Jesus exhorts His followers to be as shrewd as a serpent and gentle as a dove. We should not place our trust on anyone or anything in this world but trust the Lord and His word completely without reservation or doubt. Faith in Christ needs to be followed by works and a change of character. We need to give up many things that were part of our character and life before we believed Jesus. We cannot deceive God and He knows our thoughts, motives and intentions. He does not want us to disguise bad motives with good actions. We are to be wholly His, wholly sanctified to become like a child in purity, simplicity, humility, trust, gentleness. This is perhaps, the reason that however old we are, we are referred to as a child of God. A child needs to grow to maturity. In order to grow spiritually and holistically, we need to have an appetite and habit of imbibing the word. To be a child of God, we also need to be teachable, willing to correct ourselves and to accept the admonition of elders as well as hear the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. We need to be flexible in all minor matters and rigid and unmoving in matters the Spirit flags to us as important, vital, significant in our relationship and intimacy with the Lord.