Need for a Babe Spirit

Little children are admirable in numerous aspects, no wonder they often bring smiles to adults and easily catch their attention.  Their are highly vulnerable, and yet live with no cares whatsoever; their trust in their caregivers is immense.  They worry not about tomorrow, even in the gravest of circumstances.  Their minds and hearts are not only open to learn, but they are also eager to learn.  Every moment is a learning moment for little children, whether we as adults recognize it or not.  Hypocrisy is far from them, and they often speak their mind without much thought.

Jesus, in response to His disciples' question on who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven, indicated that whoever humbles himself as a child is the greatest.  Matthew 18:3 states, "... I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."  The Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children.

A spirit of trust, brokenness and humility is required for a person to respond to God's word in repentance and become born again.  Such spirit is contrary to an argumentative, proud and rebellious spirit that deems the gospel as foolishness.  In fact, 1st Corinthians 1:18 states, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  Thus for us to enter God's Kingdom, we must be like little children.  Also noteworthy, is that for believers to live in the fullness of life in Christ, they need to have a babe spirit.  This means that such a spirit is not only necessary at conversion, but also vital for victorious Christian living. 

In Matthew 11:25, Jesus gave thanks and said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."  The things of the Kingdom of God were hidden from wise and learned but revealed to the uneducated and ordinary (Acts 4:13).  Why would God do these?  It is God's pleasure/ will to reveal His Kingdom to those who have a spirit that is open to learning, broken, contrite and that trusts God's infinite wisdom rather than relying on limited human wisdom.  Matthew 11:26 states, "...for this was your [God's] good pleasure."

The scriptures preceding Matthew 11:25 in that chapter lay the context that helps us better understand Christ's desire for us to have a babe spirit.  In the opening scriptures of the chapter, we see Jesus preaching in the towns of Galilee and when John's disciples came to confirm from Jesus whether He was truly the Messiah, Jesus directed John's disciples to what they had heard Him preach and what they saw Him do: the blind received sight, the lame walked, the leprous were cured, the deaf heard and the dead were raised.  Jesus was persuaded that every person who had a babe spirit, open to the Spirit of God, would have a witness in their spirit that whatever they heard Him say and saw Him do was of God.

  The tragedy is that the religious leaders of the time were wise and intelligent- highly learned and with great mastery of the law- but their hearts were hardened and their critical mind corrupted, such that they could not perceive the things of God and respond to Him in faith.  Matthew 11:6 quotes Jesus' words, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."  Due to Jews and Gentiles' hardness of heart, pride that emanated from being puffed up with knowledge, and other forms of corruption such as hypocrisy, Jesus became a stumbling block to them.  1st Corinthians 1:22-23 states that Jews demanded miraculous signs and Greeks looked for wisdom, thus the gospel of Christ crucified became a stumbling block to both peoples.  Notwithstanding, Christ was, is and will ever be the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Matthew 11:16-19 highlights the rebellious passiveness and stubborn unresponsiveness to God by the people in Jesus' time.  Jews are a type of today's believers while Gentiles are a type of today's non-believers.  It is sad to note that a significant proportion of these two groups of people, exhibit the kind of passiveness and unresponsiveness witnessed by Jesus during His ministry.  These scriptures state, "To what can I compare this generation?  They are like children sitting in market places calling out to others:  'We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, but they say 'He has a demon'.  The Son of man came eating and drinking and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'  But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

May God deliver us from the corruption of religion and sin, and give us a babe spirit that is teachable and responsive to Him.  Whatever Jesus describes in Matthew 11:16-19 is an extremely dangerous place to be in, whether as a believer or non-believer.  It is a place where no matter what God does, we cannot recognise it and move in obedience to it because our hearts are hardened.  Such corrupted hearts are plagued with unbelief  like the people of Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum (Matthew 11:20-24).  Jesus denounced these cities because despite the 'most' miracles happening therein, they did not repent.  Jesus promised that on the day of judgement, it will be more bearable for Tyre, Sidon and Sodom than to those who witness God's power and refuse to humble themselves and respond in faith.

Such people search for God through religion, good works and pursuit for human knowledge, ignorant of the futility of their pursuit.  Matthew 11:27 states, "... no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."  All who desire to know God ought only draw near to Him in relationship, and He will draw them nigh to Himself (James 4:8).  I must admit that I am increasingly concerned by the reliance on human wisdom and religious activities by believers as the life-line for their Christian living, contrary to God's blue print for victorious Christian living as outlined in scripture.  Unfortunately, believers and religious gatherings that build on such a foundation are like the foolish builder who build his house on sinking sand.  When the winds blow, the rains fall and the storms rise, that house will surely tumble down with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27). 

Have our hearts become calloused by the deceit of religion, human wisdom, and self-reliance such that we deny God's power and His wisdom that leads us into Truth?  John 6:63 states, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts nothing. ...."  God intended that believers walk in His abundant life and in the fullness of His Spirit.  This is only possible if we become like little children and learn from our Father through the Spirit.  God intended that ministers of the gospel walk in the demonstration of the Spirit and power.  To do so, they must become like little children and be consumed by a desire to decrease so that Christ may increase (John 3:30).

As we obediently follow God's leading, He will lead us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him (1 Corinthians 2:14).  May God help you and I to unlearn some things so that we can learn God's Truths.  Many believers, including my self, have found themselves in seasons where they feel that they do not know how to pray, or to worship God, or to study the bible.  Such times are characterised by an intense feeling of inadequacy and weakness.  Usually, it is not a good feeling to our human nature, but it surely is a good season to be in as a believer.  It is a season that should excite us because it provides immense opportunities for us to unlearn so that we can learn from God.     

Also, the deception of religion, human wisdom and self-reliance hinders us from entering God's rest.  Matthew 11:28-30 states, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  A babe spirit enables us to be humble enough to acknowledge that our strength fails and that we cannot bear the burdens of life on our own; it enables us to surrender in trust to our Father and learn from Him.  This is the key to entering God's rest.

Many years ago, as a high school student, I volunteered to teach church school during school holidays.  One morning, I was late for the church school service that usually began at 7 a.m. and so I entered the church sanctuary (it was actually a small tent with a capacity of about 150 people that had been erected in my neighbourhood) in a rush, aiming to walk to the front benches and join the children who were praising and worshiping God.  Something divine happened that stopped me on my tracks.  I sensed such intense manifest presence of God that I sat on a bench close to the entrance and began to marvel at what I saw and perceived.  I was speechless and tears rolled freely down my cheeks as I beheld the presence of God in awe. 

These children had started praise and worship session prior to my arrival and so had no adult leading them in the session.  However, they sang in the most sincere of hearts, and God honored their praises with His glorious manifest presence.  They did not have instrumentalists and their vocals were not harmonised; the young boy who led others in worship had no much experience and their was no peculiar physical beauty in the sanctuary to behold.  Notwithstanding, God took delight in inhabiting these children's praises.

This experience helped me understand Psalms 8:2: "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."  It made me seek to understand what true worship really is and understand the power in worship offered in spirit and in truth.  May God help us to be babes- surrendered; humble; broken and contrite; earnestly seeking to know Him who is Truth and to follow Him in obedience as the Spirit of God leads!