Childish or Childlike? | Thursday
Devotional
In Luke 7, Jesus compares His generation to children in the marketplace who are impossible to please. They criticized John the Baptist for not eating and drinking, then criticized Jesus for doing exactly that! This childish behavior—being perpetually dissatisfied and inconsistent—continues in our generation.
There’s a profound difference between being childish and being childlike. Jesus calls us to come to Him with childlike faith—with trust, wonder, and humility. But He warns against childish attitudes—petulance, self-centeredness, and fickleness.
Childishness in faith looks like cherry-picking Scripture to support our preferences while ignoring challenging passages. It’s attending church only when convenient, supporting ministries only if they align with our tastes, or complaining that teaching is either too harsh or too soft.
Childlikeness, by contrast, approaches God with open hands and an open heart. It trusts even when understanding is limited. It obeys even when the path is difficult. It receives correction with humility rather than defensiveness.
Every generation will be known by how they respond to God’s Word. Will ours be remembered for childish resistance or childlike receptivity? The choice is ours, and it begins with each individual heart.
Bible Verse
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2
Reflection Question
In what ways might you be responding to God’s Word with childish resistance rather than childlike receptivity?
Quote
There is a complete difference between childlike and childish. What Jesus is describing as being childish, he’s not describing being childlike in innocence or in awe and wonder. He’s describing what it looks like to be a childish generation.
Prayer
Father, forgive my childish attitudes when I’ve been impossible to please or resistant to Your Word. Create in me a childlike heart—trusting, humble, and receptive to Your teaching. Help me to be part of a generation that honors You through our response to Your truth. Amen.