The heart of a child, a standard in the Kingdom of God

Unless you become like a child again, you will not enter. You may prophesy, you may sing, you may even preach; but if you don’t have a child’s heart, you will not enter. That’s what our Lord Jesus said:

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Mark 10:14)

This is a statement that turns categories upside down. Jesus speaks with an authority that confounds, that shakes our human logic. He does not offer a theological reflection; He lays down a heavenly rule: the attitude of a child is the standard for those who want to inherit the Kingdom. It’s not optional! It’s not a spiritual style among others. It is heaven’s model.

So let me ask you a question: have you kept your childlike heart? Can you still marvel at God? Or has your heart become hard, dry, reasonable, shaped by the performance and logic of this world?

A teachable heart

The first characteristic of a child’s heart is that it is teachable. Look at a child sitting at their father’s feet, eyes full of questions, ears attentive. He drinks in his parent’s words. He absorbs. He doesn’t assume he already knows, he doesn’t say, “I’ve heard this before.” He listens. He wants to understand. Today, we live in a generation of experts. Consumer Christians, trained by social media, sermon-skippers. There is such an abundance of content that we end up no longer feeding ourselves—but merely collecting information. And the Spirit of God weeps over a Church that listens but never learns, that hears yet refuses to be shaped.

But a child knows that he doesn’t know. A child allows himself to be taught. “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” (Prov. 9:9)

When you come into the house of God, come to sit down. Don’t come to make a quick scan of what you might receive. Come lay down your crown! Come meet the Father! Come with a thirst to receive the Word like Mary did, sitting at Jesus’ feet, while Martha was busy running in all directions. Return to that posture. Return to the humility of saying: Lord, speak, your servant is listening. Be a son. Be a daughter. Be teachable. Because God cannot deposit anything in a heart that thinks it already knows everything. And each time you say, “I already know,” you close the door to a new measure of His revelation.

A heart that forgives and forgets

A child’s heart doesn’t hold a grudge. It doesn’t build inner prisons. A child can cry, shout, get angry… and five minutes later, he hugs you and goes back to playing. He forgets. He lives in the present moment. He doesn’t keep a ledger of the wrong done to him. Oh, if only the Church understood this key! Many sons and daughters of God live oppressed, enslaved to their memories, dragging along many people they’ve never released.

But what you may not know is that the one who holds on to evil is the first prisoner of his own jail. You weren’t doing well already when you suffered. Don’t inflict a double punishment on yourself. Release. Forgive. Forget.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

This is not optional. It’s a necessity. Forgiveness purifies your heart and lightens you for the race. You know why you feel weighed down in your spirit? You know why, when you pray, nothing breaks through? You’re dragging too many people with you. You want to run with chains around your feet! Let them go! A child doesn’t overthink. He argues, he laughs, he moves on. He lives. Receive that kind of heart again. Let God clean up. Let His love heal you. You may have suffered, and those wounds are real. But what you choose now is healing. What you choose now is to let go. What God desires now is a light heart, a heart that can see His face.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

A simple and trusting heart

Have you ever seen a child in their father’s arms? He doesn’t need to know where he’s going. He’s not afraid of the path. If Dad’s there, everything’s fine. That’s what faith is. This is the trust God is looking for. Not religious activism, not grand prayers to impress, not feats of biblical knowledge… just trust.

I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:2)

This is what God looks for. Someone who can snuggle into His arms when everything seems blurry. Someone who says, “I don’t understand everything, but I know you are faithful.” Have you lost your calm long ago? Are you doubting? Are you anxious? Come back. Snuggle in. You weren’t meant to carry all these burdens. You were meant to trust.

I saw this in my daughter, Sarah. When she was little, she said she was going to travel with her pastor to the Congo. She believed it. She went to the meeting point with her suitcase, confident that everything would be ready. But it wasn’t organized… And do you know what happened? Her father did everything to find a last-minute ticket. He paid the price. He carried the burden. Because she believed. Because she had simple faith. Her father took care of it. And your heavenly Father? He will not give you a stone to drink if you ask for bread. He provides. He’s never caught off guard. A simple and trusting heart is a call to rest. You don’t need to have it all figured out, you just need to trust Him like a child.

A heart that does not suspect evil

Finally, a child’s heart does not suspect evil. It doesn’t calculate. It doesn’t dwell on suspicions. Love keeps no record of wrongs. It doesn’t analyze everything, it doesn’t interpret everything. It believes. It hopes. It endures. (1 Corinthians 13:5-7)

Look at children. You can tell them the craziest things, and they’ll believe it. You say to a child, “The moon is made of cheese,” and they’ll repeat it at school. Because a child receives. And sometimes, we’ve studied so many hurts, so many betrayals, that every new person entering our life seems like a potential threat. Every brother is a warning, every sister a suspicion. But God calls us to love. To give others the benefit of the doubt. Not to let interpretation become our judge.

You see someone ignoring you and you tell yourself, “He despises me,” when in truth he didn’t even notice you were there. You see someone not replying to you, and you build an entire narrative. But God says to you: “Become a child again. Do not suspect evil. Let Me take care of people’s inner motivations. You, love.”

Let us pray together

Father, I beg You, uproot from my heart everything that is not childlike. Remove my twisted reasoning, my hardness, my distrust, my unhealed wounds. Teach me to live simply before You. Give me back a heart that listens, a heart that believes, a heart that forgives and forgets. A pure heart that makes it possible to see Your face. I don’t want to resemble the world. I want to look like your Son. Teach me, instruct me, shape me, until I am completely conformed to Your image. Like a child in the Father’s arms. Amen.

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I need You. I believe that You died for me and that You rose again. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Give me a new heart. Amen.

At the heart of the Bible

• Mark 10:14 – Let the little children come to me
• Matthew 18:3 – Unless you become like little children
• Psalm 131:2 – My soul is like a weaned child
• Matthew 5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
• 1 Corinthians 13:5-7 – Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things

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