Childlike.

Childish.

They sound similar, but they’re so very different.

Childlike depicts a heart of wonder, trust, love.  It symbolizes the simplicity of acceptance and vulnerability.  It is a beautiful thing.

Childish, on the other hand, has a very different look.  It’s selfish and self-serving.  It is immature in its reactions and stubborn at its core.  It stomps its foot in rebellion and demands its own way.  Not so pretty.

Jesus called us to be childlike –

Matthew 18:1-4 -At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:14 – Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

He knew the only way that our hearts would be able to take in all that He is, to look with wonder at all He has done and is doing, to trust completely what He promises, that we would need the soft and accepting heart of a child.

But Jesus also called us away from childishness –

Paul understood it when he was talking about love and how a childish heart gets in the way of that:

1 Corinthians 13:11 – When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

Immaturity in our thinking, our reasoning, our reactions and our behaviors doesn’t allow us to love God and others in the way He’s asked us to.  It’s the epitome of “Mine!” instead of “Yours.”  It keeps us from experiencing all that God is, seeing all that He wants to show us, and touching the lives of the people around us.

My sweet mama used to use the word “Ish!” to say something was yucky.

Isn’t that funny?  Childlike contains the word “like” and Childish contains the word “ish”.  And I guess that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it??? 🙂