I was listening to “Child Again” by NEEDTOBREATHE, and it hit me again… the concept of acting as a child.

I constantly hear in sermons, in advice articles, in spiritual reflections, etc. that Jesus tells us to be like little children. They say to be child-like, not child-ish.

I thought that the child-ish part was misleading. Why do they say not to be child-ish? In my mind, I thought that child-ish led to child-like. I would be right or wrong depending on how child-ish is defined. When child-ish behavior is mentioned in the Bible, it is given a negative sense. But I think of the word child-ish in a positive sense. I have a different interpretation of its meaning that how the word is used in the Bible.

In my mind, everything that seemed child-like I considered to be child-ish. When I think of the concept of child-ish, I expect something good, not the type that they tell us to avoid. Thankfully, I can read up more on it and not let my misunderstandings rule my mind.

First of all, it seems very adult-ish to put these two words, child-like and child-ish, so similar sounding to mean totally different things. Be child-like, not child-ish. So what am I going to do? My thoughts will be focused on God the Father, my desires will be focused on God the Father, my mind will be focused on God the Father. The common sense of “child-ish” means doing things that are seen as disrespectful or unkind. But what if we could turn that disrespect into respect and that unkindness into real kindness? What if a childish did mean following all that God had expected of us? Then, childishness would be something different. But it’s not.

The definition of childish in the sense that they mean is more of someone being immature. And considering immaturity, the definition of “immature” means that someone hasn’t fully developed.

Development is another question in itself. In a sense of worldly development, that would mean not acting like people of your age would or not being fully responsible. When I think of not being fully developed… that’s childlike. It’s recognizing that there is still room to grow, which is seen as development.

Let me explain. With the goal of being childlike, we’re trying to be holier, closer children to God. We act as God’s children, knowing that He will provide for us. But in my personal experience, if we do that, God will take us to new places. God will put us in an area for growth. We might ask God for a blessing, but He wouldn’t give it right away. He would wait for us in our situation to grow stronger and be ready for that blessing. He would want us to develop.

I thought that holiness isn’t a goal that we get to at one point and then stays for the rest of our lives. Is it? Holiness is a way of life that we must continually work toward. It’s continuously needed. It doesn’t have a definite ending point. We have to continue growing in holiness on and on. We’re not going to stop.

If we were to stop on a continuous goal, we would be stating that we have reached a point of perfection. That’s the same as the idea of picture-perfect people, which I remember from listening to the song “picture perfect people” by JSteph / Jordan Blaine.

That’s the type of worldly thing that people have perfect-looking lives through their own strength. They could make people who don’t have that status feel unashamed or left out. They appear greater than everyone else because they’re living examples of perfection. That’s not a realistic concept. We know that all people face some imperfections in their lives, and we know that our understanding of perfection might not be perfect itself.

When I think of the concept of a child, I think that there’s always this need to grow and improve. You might have messed up once, but you know that when the situation comes up again, you’re not going to do it again. You know that you work through the difficult school year just to get to the break time so that you can prepare for another school year. The cycle repeats itself. You have to keep growing and there’s always something more coming in the future if you can wait for it.

It’s the same way in the relationship with God. We work through trials to get stronger, to increase our faith, and we continue the cycle. Life is hard. We don’t stop until life ends. God keeps giving us more and more chances.

To stop, to reach complete perfection and not need anything else would mean death, which is an option… Heaven and Hell, Heaven being the perfection of God and Hell being the perfection of everything but God. One day, we’re believing, we will reach that point of perfection, and there will be nothing to pull us in the other direction. We will make it to the perfect life. But that’s not here in the world. The life in the world is a journey, constantly changing, with new opportunities for growth. I don’t like staying where I am because I know that in order to have a fulfilling life, I have to venture out into other places where I can grow and develop even further. If I was just to stay where I was, things would get boring, and I would be relying on manufactured-attention-grabbing-schemes to make my life meaningful, that could be harmful if they aggressively take God out of the picture.

There’s so much change in the child’s life, mainly from growth and new milestones. I don’t think that should stop. You keep growing regardless of age. Getting older, in some sense, is painful. Getting older, in another sense, is rewarding.

When I mentioned how I had a different understanding of the meaning of child-ish, I can say that it’s okay. I’m still learning and growing, and I might have to change how I understand the meanings of words. That’s what it takes to grow, and if I want to get to a better understanding, I have to do that.

And I have a sample of songs that could support me in it. At first, I think of Alexander Pappas’ “Older.” His motto there says to “MAKE A CHANGE” to live in the moment instead of thinking of nonsense. He brings up the hatred of getting older, and that makes me think… why would he hate getting older? And why would the part of the song start with the words “I HATE” with their emphasis? Getting older is somewhat of a mystery when you know that your healing comes from another source. It’s not about you. It’s about making space for God.

Then, I remember Jason Gray’s “When I Grow Up.” When they ask Jason Gray what he wants to be when he grows up, he says that he wants to be a “CHILD (AGAIN).” He wants to be a child. He wants to be a child??? That makes no sense. Well, if you consider the song, there’s a key phrase that really lights it all up. That is… “simple faith.” Jason Gray refers to Jesus saying that the faith of little children is simple… and if Jesus approved of it, it seems to be enough. Great! When I grow up, I want to be in the situation where I can worship God no matter what in a simple faith, in every situation and circumstance. That’ll put an end to the child-ish and adult-ish madness.

Children have respect for their Father, as Marizu does. Marizu sings “Abba,” and he states that He trusts in “Jehovah.” In this case, Abba and Jehovah both refer to God, the God that Marizu trusts in. Marizu is a child of God, and he trusts in God just like he would in his parents.

And if people were going to find a way to keep it all going, Roy Tosh already has it in “Young Forever.” When he goes to Heaven, he implies, his goal is to turn seven… and then be an eternal youth. Life is simpler when you’re younger and have your life supported, where you don’t have to have such complicated nonsense.

All of this is just a case for simplicity. With God, beliefs might seem more complicated. But lifestyle can be simplified. I’ve seen it done before. Roy Tosh makes a reference to going into the house when his parents called for dinner. That’s the same way as when God calls for us to do something, we go do it. When God calls for dinner, we will eat well. When God calls for celebration, we will throw a party. When God calls for obedience, we will say yes. That’s the simplicity in that there is only one voice that matters, that holds the authority.
Then in the authority, we will come to know who our Father is.