The Tiny Teachers of Faith Academy

Today I was giving some careful attention to the following passage.

Matthew 18:1-5 says this:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a small child and had him stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child– this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me.

Humor me for a moment, because sometimes I have images flash in my mind as I’m reading. Today, this one made me giggle.

I imagined a school called Faith Academy where adults file into the undersized seats of a crowded classroom, ready for their first day of learning. Tapping their pencils, nervously squirming, they peer over one another’s heads, trying to see who their teacher is going to be.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, a toddler confidently struts into the room, babbling as he enters with a pacifier in his mouth. He comes in slightly disheveled, refusing to have his hair combed this morning. Breakfast leftovers are on his cheeks; he smells a little like yogurt.

In one hand he carries an applesauce pouch; in his other hand he has a bouquet. To some students they may look like weeds, but to him, they are gorgeous flowers meant to be gathered and given to the people he loves.

Keeping his paci gripped between his teeth, a grin emerges from the corners of his mouth as he toddles around the classroom to distribute a “flower” to each of his students, along with a tender hug from his chubby arms.

He climbs up into the lap of one of his “students” and asks her to read him a story. And get him some water. And cries to her because his applesauce pouch is empty. He’s hungry. He’s reliant. He asks freely with humble trust that his needs will be met.

These are his ways at this renowned Faith Academy.

In reality, these little “faith teachers” fill our homes, classrooms, and communities. Do we sometimes miss the lesson they are meant to teach us?

Needy and dependent as they are, children set the example for us in that humble, reliant, trusting faith we can have with our Father.

Consider the countless lessons we can learn from the “faith teachers” in our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We can ask our Father for what we need, day or night. He’s always available. (Psalm 121:3-4)
When we are hurting, we can go to our Father for help. (Psalm 34:17-18)
Our Father takes pleasure in seeing us delight in His creation. (1 Tim 6:17)
Our confidence is sure in the security His love provides. (Rom. 8:38-39)
We can trust when He answers our requests with “yes” … or with “no.” (2 Cor 12:8-9)
We can trust His lead even in new, unfamiliar places. (Prov 3:5-6)
We can come to Him with pure authenticity… messy or clean… grinning with delight or weeping with tear-stained cheeks. (Psalm 62:8)
We can go to Him with our deepest, most honest cries, hope fueled by His faithfulness. That’s lament. (Psalm 42:3)

There are others, but you get the point. The way a little child humbly trusts sets the standard for what Jesus commends in our relationship with our Father.

Jesus could have called over someone powerful, “successful,” or a polished example of religiosity. But instead He pulled over the weakest, and one of the least valued of society at the time.

Do we have these “faith teachers” surrounding us? Are we learning from them? We think we are here to teach them, and that’s true. But God is also using them to teach us.

Will we listen?

You can read here for a related piece.