Childlike Faith: The Infinite and Eternal
What comes to mind when you think of God? An all-knowing being? Or a more knowledgeable, enlightened, omnipotent version of yourself?
What comes to mind when you think of Heaven? A better version of Earth and our current reality—free of pain and sorrow and full of eternal happiness?
I’m of the opinion that the reality is far more exceptional. What many of us imagine is akin to a grain of sand compared to the entire universe.
Unfortunately, our limited perception of the Divine limits our access to the Divine, our experience with the Divine, our identity through the Divine, and our purpose given to us by the Divine.
In Genesis, God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness….” There is more to the verse, but let’s pause there because our entire identity and perception of life may hinge on our idea of the magnitude, limitations, and character of God. And if we were created in His “likeness,” what are the implications of that? So I ask, does the Divine have limits, or is He eternal and does He exist beyond infinity?
My child is now 1 year old, and whether he knows it or not, he teaches me an incredible amount about life. As I watch him observe the world around him, it is evident his imagination is bigger than mine. As he looks outside the window and observes school buses go by, or explores his capabilities on a playground, or walks through an empty grass field, it is clear to me he sees infinite potential in everything. In everything, he finds wonder and joy. Most of us, as adults, envy the ease with which children can tap into such a perspective. Like many of you, this is not my default experience. Life experiences, both positive and negative, have trained me to notice the limitations in most things. I find little wonder in the mundane, and although I consider myself a very happy person, I have to be intentional about seeking joy.
As we grow, we come to understand both the extent of human potential and human limitations. On one end, we are amazed at our capacity to do incredible things and our potential for good, but on the other, we are often let down by our limitations and potential for harm toward one another. This may lead people to believe that a child's joy comes through ignorance, or as the phrase states, “ignorance is bliss”, but I beg to differ. What if, as children,our restricted imagination allowed us to have unconstrained perception of God, and as a byproduct, it shaped how we viewed the world?
Mark 10:14–15: “...He said to them, ‘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.’”
Matthew 18:3: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
This should tell us that some characteristics of children should remain with us as we transition to adulthood. Children are often characterized by being playful, naturally curious, reliant on a superior, and having vivid imaginations. I think having a Godly perspective on these characteristics allows us, as adults, to truly embody what it means to be a Child of God, even in our adulthood
Playfulness – an understanding that life is made to enjoy
Curiosity – a drive to understand the world and God better
Reliance on a superior – a forever reliance on God
Vivid imagination – there is more to life than what is seen
The last characteristic, vivid imagination, is the one I want to draw extra attention to. It is a vivid imagination that rips the constraints off a limitless God and gives us proper perspective of an infinite and eternal God with infinite capabilities, infinite wisdom, and ultimately, our best intentions in mind. Oftentimes, I watch my son stare into space, and I am convinced he can see things I can’t. Sometimes I’ll ask him if he sees angels, and as a 1-year-old, he’ll respond in an unintelligible rant as though he is describing all the incredible things he has seen and all the wonders of the universe that only a child of unrestricted imagination can fathom and see. I don't know if my intuition is correct, but as a father, my job is to make sure an element of his childlike imagination is preserved, especially as he ponders the infinite and eternal nature of God.
So, as a father, I have to understand that there is a balance between the duality of being a Child of God while becoming a Man of God. Becoming a Man of God is a rite of passage that consists of exchanging naivety and foolery for wisdom. As he grows in knowledge, my job is to point him toward wisdom so that he can communicate his thoughts and navigate through this world as a Man of God would; knowing in full that the limitations of man are overcome by the limitless nature of God, and that in partnership with God, anything, under the will of God, is possible, all while maintaining his playfulness, curiosity, reliance on God, and vivid imagination about the infinite and eternal nature of God.
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
By my interpretation, this also implies that there is a way that seems right to God, and its end is the way to life. That is what I want for my son.
Without a perspective of the infinite and eternal nature of God, it is difficult to understand the capacity of God’s love and forgiveness and to conclude that God is ultimately good despite the horrific human atrocities we hear about and see daily. It is also nearly impossible to accept ideas like God’s sovereignty, the power of prayer, the activities of the supernatural, the implications of Jesus’s death on the cross, and eternal life. Paul sums it up perfectly.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
My focus this season has been on both the power of God and the power of prayer, and not my own limitations. With faith built on the belief in God’s infinite power and love, I am confident He will give me the wisdom to raise my child to prosper, endure life and all its challenges, and grow in likeness of both the Child and the Man of God he is called to be.
