I recently found my son sitting on the couch without his glasses. This wouldn’t be a big deal for most six-year-olds, but when my son is without his glasses, his eyes become cross-eyed almost instantly. After a quick search around the house, I found the glasses and brought them to him. Instead of gladly receiving them, he pushed them away, saying he didn’t need them. Being the mom, I insisted and reminded him why he needed them. His response struck me. He told me that I said he no longer needed glasses.

 

This response confused me because I had no recollection of this. After pressing a bit more, I found the truth. I frequently share the gospel with my kids and try to use scenarios to point them to Christ. One day, my son needed a band-aid, and I shared the gospel with him. I talked about heaven and how when those who believe in Jesus are in heaven, we will no longer need band-aids or glasses because God will make everything right. My son took this conversation to heart. He told me his glasses were no longer needed because he believes in Jesus.

 

While my son still needs his glasses, he also humbled me with his childlike faith. He didn’t need to overcomplicate it or read multiple different commentaries. He took the truth found in God’s Word and applied it. He believed. The simplicity of childlike faith is beautiful. Children don’t need all the answers or know how everything folds perfectly into place; rather, they are content to trust the Creator and Sustainer for who he is.

 

When we look at a child’s faith, we as parents can learn and apply a few things:

 

My kids have spent most of the year working through creation, fall, and Old Testament history. We have seen God create, man destroy, and redemption promised. These truths that we have learned each week are big. They mean something for all of creation and all of time. Each week, I have seen my kids humble themselves willingly to learn about their Creator.

 

They are amazed to look out and see what God has made, both big and small. They are amazed at how God can speak into existence, and we can’t. God’s incommunicable attributes have shone through as we study Scripture, and they have naturally humbled my kids.

 

Watching my kids in this way has convicted me. Do I humble myself before my Creator in the same way? Am I willing to lay down what ifs and unknowns and cling to the promises of God like a child clings to their parents when they are scared? The gospel should humble us and bring us back to the dependent state on our Creator we were intended for. It should point us upward to Christ. When the gospel is clear to us, we don’t become boastful because of the knowledge we gain; instead, we become humbled by the Savior that we have.

 

After hearing the gospel, my son had no problem trusting that he no longer needed his glasses. He heard that God could heal him, so he trusted that God would. My son displayed childlike trust at that moment. In the same way my children trust me to give them hugs, help them when they fall, and make their meals each day, my son trusts God would do what he says. He heard the promise and then believed. Do we, as adults, display this much trust in our God?

 

Do our lives display trust in our God, or do they display doubt? The way we react to daily situations will provide us with the answer. Trusting in God would look like us living each day for his glory, not our own, praising him in every season, and having a life identified by prayer. Trusting in God’s promises doesn’t mean what we pray for will come about; God is not a magic genie. Instead, trusting in God helps keep our eyes on him and off of ourselves. It helps us cling to the hope that is needed every day. It realigns our desires with his desire and helps us trust that His plan is always best.

 

While on earth, my son will probably always need glasses because of the weakness in his eyes. However, we can use those glasses to remind us of what will come. One day, Jesus will return and restore all creation to perfection. One day, pain, sickness, and evil will be gone forever. As we wait for that day, we can look upon things like my son’s glasses and remind ourselves of what is to come. We can trust each day that our God is a covenant-keeping God, and he keeps his promises, both big and small.

 

Courtney is a pastor’s wife and mom of three living in northeast Missouri. Courtney has a Bachelor’s in World Missions and a Master’s in Biblical Counseling.  Courtney is passionate about biblical theology and reaching the next generation. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and baking. You can find her @courtneyrchambers and @thereformedlife