Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Spirituality at 35,000 feet: Childlike Faith

(Salvatore Vuono - FreeDigitialPhotos.net)

So in the last post we talked about me re-realizing in a plane that I am not in control. Where does this leave me? It leads me toward childlike with in God.

Let me begin by clarifying that term childlike. Often times pele confuse childlike and childish and they are certainly not the same thing. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul tells us that there was a time that he/we thought like a child, but now that time has passed. The author of Hebrews tell us that while his readers should be living like and spiritually eating as adults, instead they are still infants in the faith (5:11-14). These are childish things.

Childlike, on the other hand, is approaching God with a faith that, as Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall say, believes "God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do." Childlike faith is encouraged by Jesus, even more, it is commanded by Him as necessary to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 18:4).

When we realize that we are not in control, our response should be childlike faith that move us toward prayer and praise.

Prayer is fundamentally an assertion that I cannot handle life on my own. If I could, why would I pray? Certainly I could offer prayers of thanksgiving, but if I am the one who makes life work out so nicely, it seems I might prefer thanking myself.  Prayer is a way of asserting the very fact that we are not in control and that we are thankful for and in need of God.  C.S. Lewis states in Mere Christianity that pride is the mother, the source of all sins, and a lack of control should quickly remove pride from our lives.

Praise should also flow out of our understanding that we are not in control. I could be simplistic here and say that when we realize we are frail and fallen human beings, we can praise God that we are not the one in charge of the universe.  And while this is true, us not being in control is not worth much if our God is a vengeful or incompetent being. If God was immensely powerful but not very by bright, we would exist in grave danger. But thankfully He is not incapable. In fact all His ways are right, and nothing He does is wrong. Thus the realization that an omnipotent, omnipresent, and completely good Being is in charge of the universe should bring us to a place of thanksgiving and praise.

Lack of control does not have to mean nihilism. Lack of conrol is what led the sinner, tax collector, and prostitute to the feet of the Savior Christ.

- tC

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