Matthew 18:3 “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
There is a deliberation about the age of the child that got to sit on the lap of Jesus. Different translations say “He took them in His arms” or “He embraced them” and blessed them. Jesus also made a profound statement that unless we change and become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven! In traditional Jewish education, children above the age of six attended the synagogue schools. So Bible Scholars say that the kids with their mothers, who crawled onto the lap of Jesus, would have been below the age of 6.
Neuroscience says that the brain of a child is like a sponge. It is learning and absorbing all the time. Hence, a child will forget a bad incident in less than 24 hours and wake up with a fresh mind which is unlikely in an adult. Logical thinking develops between the ages of 7 to 11 and critical thinking and cognitive capacity is acquired through learning between the ages of 12 to 15 years. Hence, kids worry about what happens around them only after the age of 6 years. Rational and logical thinking is the root cause of anxiety. To stop worrying our mind must be refreshed like a 5 year old.
When Jesus said, ‘become like children’, He said, “stop yielding to the negative emotions that are preparing for a horrific outcome and stop worrying” (paraphrased).
We need a “mind makeover” to rewire our brains to defeat fear by overruling facts and forebodings. As much as logical, critical, rational cognition are crucial, it is important to nullify fear of the future with faith.
Renewing the Mind:
1. Fear: Children are unaware of harm that is around them, hence they know no fear. We must rewire our thinking to become oblivious to the threats, dangers and damage that our circumstance could cause. The way we do it is by reiterating that God is in absolute control and He is going to make all things work together for our good.
2. Facts: Facts about our bank balance, job situation or health can make us anxious. The “333 Rule” is recommended by ‘Healthline’ to overcome anxiety – 3 objects, 3 sounds and 3 actions. The 333 rule can be our ‘Mind Makeover’ exercise – pick 3 objects (the Bible, a song and a notepad to write your bold confessions), declare 3 ‘power promises’ aloud and take 3 actions such as praying, praising and fasting to overcome anxiety caused by factual and logical thinking. Defeat the factual foreboding with the 333 rule.
3. Faith: Faith and fear contradict each other and they cannot co-exist. Hence to become like a child is to overrule facts and fear with simple, humble, childlike faith.
“Healthy mind is the key to a healthy man”.
Philippians 4:8b If anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, give me the heart of a child and help me to neutralize facts and nullify fear with faith like a little child. Amen.
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