Like a Little Child

“...although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” Luke 10:21

Richard Dawkins, the infamous militant atheist biologist, was on a BBC radio show once with the Rev. Giles Fraser, former canon chancellor of St. Paul's Cathedral in England. Dawkins had just claimed that people in Britain who identified themselves as Christian, were not Christian at all, because according to a survey conducted by their group, they could not even name the first book of the New Testament! Reverend Fraser then countered with the question: “Could you give me the full title of The Origin of the Species”?

Dawkins hesitated and mumbled, "On the Origin of Species…Uh…With, oh, God, On the Origin of Species. Um…There is a sub-title with respect to the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.” Would his answer indicate that Dawkins was not a real evolution-believing atheist? 

Sometimes we can be too wise for our own good. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “I tell you the truth, unless you repent and change, and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Strong words. Wise people have tried to prove that God does not exist, but they can’t answer where moral law comes from if there is no God. 

Little children instinctively trust adults, and we, like little children, like lambs, should trust our Shepherd. Like little children, we should be full of hope and expectation. We should bask in our Father’s all powerful love. Instead of always being bothered and stressed, we should recover our capacity to be fully in the present, to experience the gifts God gives us. Like little kids who are enthusiastic and lack guile, we should not be afraid of creating or making or starting something new. Atheists may try to destroy, but little children like to build. Lord, may we never be cynical or angry. There is so much for us to discover and learn if we open our hearts to You, like a little child!