When was the last time you watched small children play?
I find it fascinating when one of my three kids gets an idea, and the other two go along with it. Suddenly, each of them has been transformed into a hero, and random objects in their room have magically become much more valuable and significant.
A hairbrush becomes a microphone to sing a song from their favorite movie. Stuffed animals are an audience to the performance. A little brother is now a faithful sidekick as the pair fights injustice.
Whatever the fantasy, it is a childlike wonder that allows children to create everything out of nothing.
There's also a childlike kindness involved in this sort of play. On their best days, no one is left out, everyone plays an important part, and all are the best version of themselves in the eyes of everyone else.
Other days, when the kids get together to play, they are just plain childish. They don't share their toys. They are mean and rude, leading to fighting and screaming. They don't treat one another with kindness and respect and the world of wonder comes crashing down into a mess of tears, consequences, and important lessons.
As we grow up, many of us tend to hold on to one element from our childhood, while discarding the other. Will we hold on to the childlike wonder and generosity which produced teamwork and joy, or will we set aside the childish behaviors that once got us put in time out?
The Bible describes the path of growth using these two phrases - childish and childlike.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle calls Christ-followers away from childish things.
“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.”
Yet, in Matthew 18, Jesus invites us to embrace a childlike faith.
"I tell you the truth unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Becoming a grown-up who is childlike but not childish is difficult. We all know people who are "grown-up" but behave no better than the bully on the playground. Unfortunately, we even see it in the church. We assume that because someone has been a follower of Christ for a long time, surely, they must be a mature Christian, but that's not always the case.
This was also true in the early church. The writer of Hebrews scolds those he's writing to and in Hebrews 5 where he states, “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
So, as we grow in Christ, how do we outgrow being childish while at the same time staying childlike? By being humble.
But what does it mean to be humble? Humility is something that we know when we see it, but we often struggle to define it objectively.
I find it helpful to create simple phrases or acronyms to ground me when I don’t know what to do or where to start. When struggling with growing out of childishness while maintaining being childlike, consider this acronym using the word humble.
Humanize others
Understand your brokenness
Make Jesus the standard
Believe the best
Love everybody always
Expect to find God at work
Humanize others. Everybody needs Jesus. We’re all human, imperfect, and in need of a Savior. When we remember the level playing field at the foot of the cross, it changes how we view others.
Understand your brokenness. Self-awareness is a sign of healthy spiritual growth. We need to be aware of where our brokenness is most pronounced. Consider Peter's temper, Paul's pride, Judas's deception, and James and John's desire for power. We're all broken in unique ways and when we acknowledge them, we're closer to humility.
Make Jesus the standard. Jesus is the standard everyone is measured against, never ourselves. When we remember to point everyone to Jesus, we lose opportunities to stand in the spotlight He deserves.
Believe the best. I believe everyone is doing their best based on what they know. It's so easy to assume the worst about others. When we believe the best, we meet them where they are in humility rather than looking down on them in pride and judgment.
Love everybody always. I met with a woman recently who was struggling with an incredible question amidst tremendous challenges in her family. She was asking “what does love look like here?” I was in awe of her question and her efforts to love amidst adversity. If we defaulted to the posture of loving everybody always, asking the same question that woman did, we’d act a lot differently.
Expect to find God at work. God is at work in us, through us, and all around us. If we go into a day, a situation, or a relationship expecting God to be at work, our focus remains on our Savior, not our sufficiency.
Growing in Christ means that we no longer settle for milk, but instead seek meat. That we are no longer childish yet are still childlike. That we no longer point people to ourselves but instead point them to Jesus. Like many things in the kingdom of God which are counterintuitive, the only way to grow up is to stay low.
I love the lyric from NEEDTOBREATHE’s song Survival. "I am a man in need of a constant revival. Jesus, come quickly, I need you for my survival."
RELATED CONTENT: "Survival" by NEEDTOBREATHE (Feat. Drew & Ellie Holcomb)
Staying low keeps us humble and hungry for Jesus to grow us and sustain us!
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer with the coolest last name ever. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona. Scott is married to Dani and they are the parents of three “little savages.” He helps hurting people forgive others through his Free to Forgive course and you can read more of his writing at scottsavagelive.com
