1 Corinthians 13:11

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a [man], I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11
Dear Gary,

I have always liked this bible verse although it makes me sad in a lot of ways. Is it so wonderful "to put away childish things?" I'm not so sure. In Luke 18:15-17, Jesus meets with a group of children and the disciples try to shoo them away. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." So, here we have yet another biblical contradiction. Or do we?

Not along ago, we talked about people coming to faith for comfort and security. I think that is how faith begins for many of us. Especially for those of us who first experienced it as children. Jesus/God is revealed to us as a type of father figure. This can be one of our earliest demonstrations of right versus wrong. For some of us, this includes the threat of hell. As a child, I was taught that Jesus died for my sins and that I should always try to follow His example. And I don't think that is such a bad thing to teach a child. Religion can be our first exposure to ethics and morality. But as we get older, we can't relate to God on such a simplistic level. Our faith must grow as we do. We have to "put away childish things" and challenge ourselves. Faith is hard. We are confronted with questions every day and sometimes we may have to do things that we don't want to do. It is infinitely easier to do just what we want instead of doing as we ought to. Faith can be very inconvenient. Like going to the gym. I hate going to the gym. But I know I need to in order to get healthy and strong. Some Sundays, I just don't feel like going to church. But I have to remind myself that I need to EXERCISE my faith.

At the same time, we can also appreciate the simplicity of faith. We can boil it down to the basics. What does it mean to be a Christian? After we let go of all the worldly trappings and "stuff," what do we end up with? This is where we can become childlike. I think a Christian believes in Christ as his/her Savior and follows His example. And the rest of it can fall away. There are plenty of facets to faith that we can discuss and dissect. Congregations have broken up over disagreements about a single theological point. And I think this is where Jesus tells us to receive the Kingdom of God like a little child. Then, we can go on to explore it in detail. Adding our life experiences and exposure to other ideas.

In my anthropological studies, I have explored many different religions and I have always been struck by how similar many of them are. This has served to STRENGTHEN my faith rather than impede it. Human beings have always sought a relationship with the divine. And the common threads throughout many religions lead me to believe that there is a grain of truth in all of them. That ulimately, we are all striving towards the same conclusion. And I bring that with me into my faith life.

We can be childlike in our faith while putting away childish things. And we can turn to God for strength and wisdom as Lewis encourages us to do. Because ultimately, we are God's children.

-Malady