Become As A Child - 2nd posting

Continue to click on video if it won't start...it is not a Christian made video, but I love the pics.

Luke 18:17 - "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

 

Matthew 18:1 - "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

 

Matthew 18: - "I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".

 

The above scripture in Luke is speaking about eagerly accepting and trusting Christ as an innocent child would. An adult would worry about words, about the theology and if they 'did it right'...when a child just opens their heart to God.

 

 

 

 

Then in Matthew it is fairly obvious that God does desire that those who are converted be encouraged to keep the attitude of a child afterward. This verse is very similar in all translations "unless a person is converted and become like children". Therefore, if one looks at the whole picture, God wants for us to come to Him as a child (In Luke)...stay that way for a time and then desire the pure milk of the word to grow on! (Not the heavy theology...but instead the very basics. Steeping them in the gospel and learning about taking Christ's yoke upon them and walking with Him...obeying the New Commandment...prayer and fellowship, and etc)

 

 



 

 

 

 

Click on the following URL to see the whole chapter of Mark 4, which shows the importance of helping the 'soil' of the people we are sharing with to be receptive. > When the unsaved person is shown the love of Christ while they are yet sinners softens and prepares the soil to receive Him. And then new converts stay receptive when caring and adequate discipleship is given...then what happens when the soil has not been cultivated. Sadly I've seen this happen all too often, especially at an alter-call where people are going up to the alter alone, and then there is no sincere follow-up afterwards.

 http://niv.scripturetext.com/mark/4.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Christians need to be encouraged to not rush through the process by those who are discipling them and are familiar with what the bible says...as this stage of Christian growth must be important or God would not have included it. Successfully walking through this process with a baby Christian will help their walk with Christ and their productivity immeasurably!

 

Having taught for close to 35 years in early childhood education I can tell you a few important general characteristics that uniquely separate how young children typically act and think as compared to any other age. Please read through them (below in red) and even though I will make some comparisons to the newly saved, I am not going to comment or leave scriptures (in black) on all of them, leaving some for you to fill in.

 

 

 

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**Young children are concrete thinkers. Whatever they see, feel, hear and.experience is real to them. There are no layers to anything... what you see is what you get.

 

 This is a great attribute for a young Christian! To be encouraged to 'just believe' what the scriptures say! To not analyze so much, which is our problem! We only know the world and how the carnal nature thinks and acts...so these ways are so familiar to us that many of the precepts in scripture that may not seem logical are pushed aside because we have not nurtured this vital characteristic -- to 'just believe' God over our own thinking! What's interesting is that this important characteristic is what helps us to mature...because those that believe God's thinking even over one's own, grow quicker because they don't just give intellectual assent to the words of scripture, but actually believe them because they know that God's ways and thoughts will often be much different than our own!

 

James 1:22Do what God's word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves.

Romans 11:33Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

 

 

**They are egocentric. Everything is about them. So, if their family is having problems they figure they must have done something wrong, and if they are happy they figured they must have done something to help that happen too.

 

 

**If they see something and want it, even if someone else has it, they figure it's theirs just because they want it.

 

 

**Toddlers love to explore and touch everything...which is something that helps them grow in their sensory development rapidly, which in turn helps their brain grow...and so this is really good if they are allowed to do this, but it also means they will end up touching things they ought not.

 

 

**They do not understand, or even think about yet how their actions affect others.

This is a very important one to grow out of...at least that's what scripture says! However, it is one that much of the church still has not matured in...though God even made a command that we do! This is one of the strong residual characteristics that was passed to us at the fall -- self-centeredness. Where the world revolves around you and you can only go so far in being able to feel and empathize with someone else's pain. Christians will tout the extreme importance of doing the first part of loving God, but stop there...when God commanded that we do both - love God and our neighbor AS we love ourselves! In fact this one thing impedes so much of our productivity... 

 

2 Cor. 5:15He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

 

 John 13:34So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

 

**They are usually risk takers, because they don't understand consequences yet, and also spacial differences. They can't tell whether something is 2 feet high, or 4 feet.

 

 

**They are wide open to love and be loved.

 

 

**They are easily moved when someone else is hurting...and feel very guilty if they think they caused it.

 

 

 **They can be very stubborn, 2 yr olds have been known to hold their breath till they actually pass out!

 

Mark 16:14Still later Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles while they were eating. He put them to shame for their unbelief and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.

 

1 Sam. 15:23Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you..."

 

John 14:23  Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

 

**They easily trust...and believe what is told to them...however, if the caretaker's behavior is contrary to their words it can cause one or more arrests in a child's development...BUT if the caretaker's words and actions are congruent the outcome is and can be solid! They also learn the importance of imitating Christ.

 

1 Thess. 1:6 -
You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.

 

 

**Their roots are very susceptible, so they readily soak up their experiences

 

 

**They have an exuberance to life. Everything is exciting.

 

 

**They are uninhibited, and they don't care what others think.

 

Matthew 18:4 - Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

**They are not yet tainted, so they don't have the fears and hurts that hold us back.

 

 

 

**They don't mind getting their hands dirty.

 

 

**When they were told God is real they will believe it, so their faith is strong and their heart open. I've seen young children accept Christ and it is very apparent they truly did! Christianity is actually simple enough for a child to understand the very basics...it is adults that make it seem more complicated.

 

 **Therefore they usually are very open to spiritual things. Many people have said that it was when they were children that they saw an angel.

 

 

 

**They bond with their first caretakers unless those caretakers do something to deliberately cause harm, which can cause children to resist bonding later on.

 

 

 

**They need care, because they can easily be deceived. However, they can easily get discouraged too if the caretaker is not gracious with their mistakes and child-like thinking.

 

 

 

 

**Their senses are more acute and reactions more dramatic.

 

 

 

 

*They naturally know when they are full. It is the adults that teach them to not 'listen' to their body's senses and to finish their plate or to over eat. However, they naturally will be hungry...although it ebs and flows according to how fast they are growing and other factors. Therefore, they should not be pushed too hard to eat so it stays a natural thing and not forced...which can cause problems later.

 

1 Peter 2:2- Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

 

 

**They can usually tolerate cold much easier...in fact the kids that live in colder climates are typically healthier. We are the ones that insist on them wearing even more heavier clothing than necessary.

 

 

 

Please feel free to copy this if you want to write in your own answers.