Mark 10 Lesson

BECOMING CHILDLIKE IN OUR FAITH

Today’s lesson focuses on the following two things:

1. What it means to be childlike in our faith,
2. What it means to be a child of God. 

Jesus loves children, and in the following verse, He lets us know that we must become childlike if we want to enter His Father's kingdom:

• “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” – Mark 10:15.

So, what does it mean to become childlike in our faith? 

To understand the answer to that question, we will look at seven characteristics of children that are mentioned in the Bible.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN

When Jesus was asked who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, He called a child to Himself, sat down, and responded:

• “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.  So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” – Mathew 18:3-4.

This was a warning to His disciples, and it is also a warning to us.  

If we want to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to be humble and take on the following characteristics of a child:

1. Innocence,
2. Curiosity,
3. Obedience,
4. Hopefulness,
5. Acceptance,
6. Eagerness to learn,
7. Readiness for action.

We will look at each of these characteristics in more detail, and then the lesson will be yours.

1. Innocence:   By the time we are adults, we have seen some pretty terrible things.   “Being innocent” means that we continue to have hope and belief in the good of people despite the horrible things we may have seen or experienced first-hand.  "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'” - 1 Peter 1:14,
2. Curiosity:   Children are often in classrooms or studying on their own.   Learning is a part of their day-to-day lives.   As we mature, God wants us to continue our learning, with one important caveat. He wants us to shift our focus from secular things to Spiritual things. He wants us to become curious about our faith and eager to learn more about Jesus. "The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness." -  Proverbs 15:14,
3. Obedience:   There is a difference between reading God’s word and obeying it.  Just as little children are commanded to be obedient to their parents (Ephesians 6:1), we are to be obedient to our heavenly Father.  Jesus tells us that obeying His commandments is how we show Him that we love Him.  “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” - John 14:15,
4. Hopefulness:    Children have a hopefulness about what the future holds.  Sadly, as we become older some of us will lose that hope for a variety of reasons.  Maybe the world has beaten us down and we have become discouraged?  As Christians, we must understand that our hope is not in the things of this world, but in the heavenly things above(John 18:36),
5. Acceptance:   God commands us to love one another.  Loving one another is the second greatest commandment, second only to loving God. A fantastic way to show our love for others is to remember the golden rule that Jesus taught during His Sermon on the Mount: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” – Mathew 7:12.  Children are naturally accepting of people that are different from them.  Adults sometimes are not. Being accepting of others is another wonderful characteristic of children that Christians need to emulate,
6. Eagerness to learn:   Jesus would often go away into a quiet place to study scripture and pray to His Father.  If Jesus believed this was important to Him, how much more important must it be for us?  Unless we know what God’s commandments are, we have no chance of keeping them or maturing in our faith.  That is why we must follow the example of children and be eager to learn.  Paul wrote to Timothy, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." – 2 Timothy 2:15,
7. Ready for action:   Children seem to have an unlimited supply of energy!  Like children, Christians are supposed to be active.  We are supposed to be doers of the word.  James wrote about this in the following scripture: “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” - - James 2:14-17.

BECOMING CHILDREN OF GOD

How do we become children of God?

According to the Bible, there are two things that we must do:

1. Believe in Jesus,
2. Receive Jesus.

To receive Jesus means to trust that His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins once and for all time (Hebrews 10), and that God raised Him from the dead. (Source: gotquestions.org)

Consider what it means to believe and receive Jesus as you look at the following three scriptures about becoming children of God:

1. “For you are all sons and daughters of God throughfaith in Jesus.” - Galatians 3:26,
2. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” – John 1:12,
3. “AndI will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.” – 2 Corinthians 6:18.

CONCLUSION

Having childlike characteristics is critical to our faith and our salvation. 

Jesus said:

• “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” – Mark 10:15.

In today’s lesson, we identified seven characteristics of children that Christians should emulate:

1. Innocence,
2. Curiosity,
3. Obedience,
4. Hopefulness,
5. Acceptance,
6. Eagerness to learn,
7. Readiness for action.

If we want to become children of God, there are two things that we need to do:

1. Believe in Jesus,
2. Receive Jesus.

To receive Jesus means to trust that His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins once and for all time (Hebrews 10), and that God raised Him from the dead.

We will end today's lesson with the following scripture:

• “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, 'Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.'And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.” – Mark 10:13-16.