The Faith of Children

What is the meaning of faith?

On occasions our faith can be in need of strengthening. Life has a habit of sometimes throwing doubt at us when things don’t quite go as smoothly as we would like.

So where can we gain our inspiration from?

Where can we turn to regain that absolute faith that we have so relied on before?

The answer is quite simply all around us. For a start Gods creation is wonderfully inspiring. Despite the scientist great efforts to explain the origins of the universe, there are always more questions than answers and one can only conclude that some kind of super force is the creator of our world and the planets and stars beyond.

But just by purely observing nature we can see how creatures rely on faith to progress. Imagine being a chick in a birds nest. Eventually, one day that chick will have to flee the comforts of that nest to make its own way in the world. But first it must learn to fly.

But how does a bird learn to fly?

It’s not exactly one of those skills that can be practiced before hand. That chick has to take one almighty leap of faith and jump. Instantaneously that chick becomes a fully fledged bird with the instinct to fly.

Mother Nature provides many other instances of faith, but we can also see this happening naturally in our own children.

My son Charlie was up on his feet quite early; about seven months. He practically skipped the crawling stage. However once he was on his feet he would hold on to every piece of furniture to guide himself around the room. This he did for about another nine months until one day we were sitting on the patio at my parents’ house. My wife and I were sitting on one side on a concrete bench linked to the patio table and my mum and dad were sitting on a wooden bench on the other side of the patio. Charlie was eager for his grandparents’ attention and was stretching out for them to come and get him. I made to take him over to them but after a couple of steps I let go of his hand. He was left stranded in the middle of the patio.

What should he do?

For a second we could see the bemusement on his face. But he looked at my mum and dad and then went for it. His faith became instantaneous as he toddled over to nanny. From that point on there was no stopping him. His faith had provided him with a new found confidence and freedom.

We can see this faith and self confidence naturally and unquestioning in children.

But what happens to us as we grow older and our faith tends to weaken?

With life’s many ups and downs, the downsides can test our faith and self confidence if we let it. But if we take the trouble and time to look around us we can see the miracles of God all the time, and we should easily be able to recall the many times that God has helped us in our lives.

In children faith is unquestioned. They don’t think about it, they just practice it, even if they are unaware of it. This is how our faith in God should be; unquestionable.

How fantastic is that?

Terry Norrington

www.whatisthemeaningoffaith.com

www.cryinthedark.org