“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” – Matthew 19:14 (NLT)

What does it mean to have faith like a child? We hear this phrase often but we don’t really think about what it means. I just know that to have faith like a child is to become like them–helpless, weak, and needy of older people. Like children, we need to be humble and accept the truth that we can’t do things on our own. We are nothing without the Father.

A child needs to be taken care of. He needs parents to take good care of him and teach him how to live. For me, the verse is suggesting that we ought to become like the young ones who totally depend on their parents— we need to learn to become dependent on our God.

Faith like a child makes me think of the word “innocence”. I no longer have that. I am 29 years old and those almost three decades of living in this world have taught me a lot. I’ve become wise of the mistakes I and others made. I’ve become wiser because of the people who truly love me.

I’m no longer innocent but my child is. He may be “makulit” more often than not but he is an innocent child. The other night while I was about to have dinner, I called him to eat. He went to my side and sat down. I wasn’t expecting him to eat because he was busy watching on the iPad. But as soon as he settled, he folded his hands and started to pray, “Thank you God. Amen.” I was surprised and ashamed at the same time. I forgot to pray on my own but my child didn’t. What a sweet reminder from him! I was shocked that he voiced out a complete sentence as he still speaks gibberish. He may not understand what that means but because he sees his family doing it frequently, he has to do it too. I have no idea though where he learned to say “Thank you God” because my husband and I, we usually say “Dear Lord, Thank you po sa pagkain (Thank you for the food.)” And that’s another reason why I got surprised.

We bring Noah to our home church every Sunday. He still stays at the Toddlers Room but we’re praying he’d be ready to go up and join the Beginners class by next year. It’s been a challenge disciplining him but I know this is what God wants us to do. Just as our parents brought us to church and introduced us to Christ, Joshua and I will bring Noah up in the knowledge of the Lord.

Husband and I grew up and went to Sunday School together. We were childhood friends and met at our home church so you know how important it is to bring our son to that same place where we met the Lord and each other. Noah may not understand the songs we’re singing and teaching him or the Bible stories we’re reading to him but the Lord calls us to leave a legacy of faith to our son. More than the riches we are still planning to build by God’s grace, our faith passed on to him would be the best heritage. So if you see me pushing him to play a toy guitar during Praise and Worship time, it’s just me exposing him to some of the things we do for God.  Joshua plays the guitar on Sundays so it’s the best way to learn from his daddy.

Faith like a child. Faith like Noah–our son and that of his namesake. By faith, Noah built an ark, moved with godly fear, and left (Hebrews 11:7). It is my prayer that we’ll be able to raise him up in the fear of the Lord.

Honestly, it’s been quite a challenge lately. We’re still figuring out how to discipline him and learning what method will work. By God’s grace, we will be the kind of parents He wants us to be for our son.

Child-like faith. I want that too. To not doubt of His Word and to not question His will.

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Here’s a One Shot Sample recording of the popular Christian song “Cast All My Cares Upon You” we did during our Habagat Staycation:

This made me teary-eyed at the end. It was so touching to see and hear your own child sing about God. Looking forward to more of this.