“He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’” – Matt. 18:2-3

Whenever I find a verse in Scripture that doesn’t seem clear, I keep it top-of-mind. I can’t help it really. Matthew 18 has stuck in my head for years. Becoming like a child has so many possible meanings, and Jesus places such a high importance on being “childlike”, I was not content to settle with traditional answers. It wasn’t until recently, being a father and a teacher, that I have begun to understand this passage. The most valuable spiritual trait of a child is unknowing.

It is amazing how much adults think they know. We have the whole world figured out. As our excuse, we have to get up everyday and fulfill a litany of obligations. It would be hard to do this, day in and day out, if we didn’t place a certain level of important and permanence to our actions. In the end, however, it is all an illusion. Our view of reality is small and warped, and our actions are little more than barely conscious plankton riding an ocean wave. In the words of the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”.

Children know nothing, they are a blank slate. They look to the world, to others, and to God as ready receptacles of learning. They are seeking truth, not pausing for a second to assume they have already found it. Children place great trust in those who teach them. It is their greatest strength and greatest vulnerability. To take the instruction of another gives them power over you, a power which Christ demands we surrender to Him so that we may learn holiness.

Perhaps that is why adults stop learning, we don’t want to be vulnerable. We are afraid of being fooled or made fools of. Maybe that is why we are so hesitant to jump with both feet into a relationship with Christ, and instead wade our toes in the shallow pools of religious exhibition. We like the perception of control that comes from a limited material existence.

Unknowing is a common term in Christian Mysticism, but it took me a while to connect the dots to Matthew 18. The Cloud of Unknown by Unknown (most ironic author ever) is also well known staple of Christian Mysticism. It is a discipline the sages have taught and pleaded with us for years. We are so quick as adults to feel like we have an answer for everything. Not just as religious people, scientists, doctors, and philosophers have always been quick to claim to claim they have things “figured out”. (Remember “Humorism”?) It makes us feel safe to think the world is no bigger than we are.

Despite all the fear and uncertainty that comes from unknowing, there is one out-shining benefit… Discovery! I am jealous when I see my son’s eyes light up as he learns and discovers the wonders of the world around him. I envy the journey he is on. I realize how I could still be on that journey myself if I just let go of my own assumptions as well. The kingdom of heaven is eternal and infinite. So to live in it you must have a mind that is infinitely capable, the mind of a child.

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Related (and where I reused the photo from): Precious Childhood Memories

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