I work with abused and neglected kids and have been amazed at how they usually still want to go back home. This also sheds light on why it is hard for children to report perpetrators. There is ambivalence in children, the feeling of wanting to be with someone but at the same time having anger or fear of that someone. I used to thnk that ambivalence is all bad. However, I have come to realize that to be ambivalent requires that a person considers a certain relationship a part of his life. The ambivalent person does not have the notion that a relationship can just be abandoned. 

     This observation of children gives me a glimpse of why Jesus admires childlike faith and says it is the faith that is acceptable in his kingdom. The child embraces his parents, even though society may look at their parents as bad. The child does not abandon his connections. He is the epitome of a maintainer of relationships. Childlike faith reflects God's faithfulness to his people, those who have faith in him. God promises to always be with those who trust in him, and does not put any conditions. He does not say I will be with you unless you... In the same way, the child, even when hurt by his caregivers, still wants to be with them.

     When I look at my child, how she longs to just be with me, I get a glimpse of God's unmerited grace, the grace that is not earned by our good works. When my daughter cuddles with me, I find mysef being grateful to the God who loved me from before the foundations of the world, despite all the sins that he knew I committed and will commit.

     I heard some people say they have stopped becoming a Christian. How can that be? I believe it is due to an attitude that is antithetical to childlike faith. It is a faith borne from an individualistic mindset that sees the purpose of the "things" around an individual as existing for the benefit of that individual. When a "thing" ceases to be useful or convenient, that "thing', including God and other people, could be discarded.

     On the other hand, Childlike faith sees God as part of the life of a person, not a transient object. The relationship with God is seen as an abiding relationship. It is not seen as something to be discarded when things get hard, just like we can't discard our parents when they grow old. To do so is seen as a shameful act, and should bring about guilt. That is true faith, the faith that even in times of confusion says, who can we follow, you have the words of eternal life.