What Does It Mean to Be Childlike?
Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven in human consciousness. He gave implicit instructions on how we can recognize and fill our place in that kingdom. He said: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18:3;
The Master exposed the false belief in a far-off heaven when he made the definite statement that "the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21; If the kingdom of God is within us, it must be a state of harmonious consciousness to be realized by daily imaging forth childlike qualities. These bring heavenly harmony into our experience and thereby make us conscious of the kingdom of heaven within.
Christ Jesus loved little children. He saw in them the spiritual qualities his own consciousness expressed as he went about his Father's business, destroying discord of every kind. When the disciples rebuked those who brought their children to him so that he could touch them, Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Mark 10:14; What qualities did he see in them? Perhaps trustfulness, innocence, purity, expectancy of good, humility, gentleness, happiness, kindness, receptivity, teachableness, simplicity, joyfulness, and above all, perhaps, their ability to love. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Jesus loved little children because of their freedom from wrong and their receptiveness of right." Science and Health, p. 236;
The four-year-old child of a mother of my acquaintance was known by many to be a loving and lovable child. One day a friend of the mother asked the child, "Who do you love?" She expected a reply in the nature of, "I love my mommy and my daddy." But the child looked up at her, eyes beaming, and replied simply, "I love everybody." The inquirer felt she had gained new insight into the purity of childlike love.
Often we see a little child place his hand trustfully in his father's or mother's. He is willing to let his parent lead him, confidently knowing that the adult will guide him around any obstacles in his path, and should danger threaten, he knows that his parent's arms are right there to hold and protect him.
The term "as little children," as used by Jesus, did not refer only to the physical time span we know as childhood. Many a small child, like the adult, is influenced by the so-called carnal mind to express childish characteristics, which are the opposite of the childlike qualities Jesus loved. Some of these opposite characteristics manifest themselves as selfishness, hatred, willfulness, disobedience, unkindness, jealousy, resistance to correction, and so on, which seem to impose themselves on children as well as adults. It is not years that determine our eligibility for the kingdom of heaven, but the genuinely childlike qualities governing our consciousness, whatever our age may be.
Small children usually yield willingly to the childlike qualities they are encouraged to express. The success of the adult in helping the child to overcome immature qualities is measured by the adult's own effort to overcome such characteristics himself and to express the pure childlike qualities in his own daily life, thereby setting an example to the child entrusted to his care. Unlike the adult, the little child of loving parents is usually not burdened with what are called "the cares of this world." This fact points to the wisdom of the adult early learning to claim and to express the precious childlike qualities as his own, because he is now the child of God.
Come, walk with Love along the way,
Let childlike trust be yours today. Christian Science Hymnal, No. 139;
As the adult confidently reaches out for the Father's hand, as he trusts God to guide him around or through what seem to be obstacles in his path, as he trustingly knows that the Father's loving arms are right there to protect him from seeming danger, he is expressing some of the childlike qualities that will bring harmony into his experience. This passage from Science and Health gives food for thought: "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, —this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony." Science and Health, pp. 323-324;
Some skeptical one may ask, "Is childlikeness practical? Can it withstand the onslaughts and the bufferings of the self-seeking, wolfish schemes of the so-called carnal mind?" It is good to remind ourselves that childlikeness represents many spiritual qualities having their source in God and consequently subject only to the laws of God. Childlikeness is indeed practical because childlike qualities, expressed, bring results. In Isaiah we read the prophecy that "the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; . . . and a little child shall lead them." Isa. 11:6;
Think what it would do for the peace of the world if men and women everywhere were striving to become as little children in this higher sense, and were expressing only childlike qualities! Small nations would be able to grow in safety and express their own individualities. Large nations would be able to exist side by side, with mutual respect for the unfoldment of their own identities and without a desire to dominate. "When, as little children, we are receptive, become willing to accept the divine Principle and rule of being, as unfolded in divine Science, the interpretation therein will be found to be the Comforter that leadeth into all truth," Miscellaneous Writings, p. 189. Mrs. Eddy assures us.
It is never too late for us to become as little children in expressing and living the childlike qualities Jesus loved, which he recognized as necessary for entrance into the heavenly kingdom.
