Slideshow image

Childlike or Childish

 

Luke 9:48 - And said unto them, whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. 

1 Corinthians 3:1 - And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 

There is a vast difference between the Christian who is childlike and the one who is childish. Christ wants us to be like children in our submission, our love, our ignorance of evil (1 Corinthians 14:20), and our enthusiastic enjoyment of the blessings of life. But He does not want us to be childish in our disposition and attitude. 

“When I became a man, I put away childish things,” said Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:11. Nothing is more disgusting than an adult acting like a baby – pouting, fussing to have their own way, insisting on attention. The mature Christian who is growing in grace puts away childish things, the foolish “toys” that mark an arrested growth.

The Christian who lives for the flesh – the carnal Christian – will never mature and become useful for God. It is only through the Word and the Spirit that “babes in Christ” grow up to be “adults for God.” No wonder Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “Quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). In other words, “Stop acting like little kids! Grow up!”

It is expected that children will act childish; it is expected that adults will act like adults. Which are you?

From – “Thoughts for Men on the Move” by Warren Wiersbe