Innocent

Written by Dawn Rutan

In How to Really Love God as Your Father, Deborah Newman comments: “Imagine yourself at five years old. What is on your five-year-old mind? Do you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? …Unless your childhood included some extenuating circumstances… remembering yourself as a little child should include carefree innocence.” I’ve recently read a couple different books that mentioned the idyllic nature of childhood for many children—freedom from worry and major responsibilities, and having time for fun and enjoying life. Although I would contend that such experiences are more rare than we would like to admit, they do bring to mind some images worth considering.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me; and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:14-15 ESV). While we can all enjoy the thought of Jesus embracing the little children and blessing them, Jesus’ words were actually for His disciples. His message was for the adults, including us. Yet I doubt that most of us can really grasp what it would mean for us to come to Him like a child. Why is that?

It occurred to me that there are two ways that we use the word “innocent.” One is the innocence of being free from guilt. The other is the childlike trust and naiveté that knows someone else is in control so there is no need for worry. As we grow up (and sometimes before we grow up), we lose both of those types of innocence. We know we are guilty of sin, and we know that the world is a dangerous place where we have to look out for ourselves. I believe that Jesus intends for us to reclaim our lost innocence by coming to Him.

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First, He grants us freedom from the guilt of sin as we accept His sacrifice on the cross. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He exchanged His righteousness for our sinfulness so that we could once again be innocent. We can lay aside the guilt and shame we have carried because of our own sin and the sin of others against us. “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11). The forgiveness found in Christ can remove a lot of the burden that weighs us down as grownups.

Second, God reminds us that He is in control and He is trustworthy. Of all the worries and concerns that darken our days, most will either never come to pass or are outside our control anyway. Like a child worried about what’s in the dark, we need to trust that our Father can see what we can’t and He will take care of us. I think this is perhaps the harder innocence to recover. Once we’ve seen the pain and suffering that this world can bring, it’s hard to trust that God really knows best and will not let us endure anything that He won’t equip us to handle. We would prefer for life to be a lot less difficult and a lot more fun.

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Coming to Jesus like a child is a daily choice to accept His forgiveness for our sins and to ask for His provision for our needs. He is our Father who supplies our daily bread, and who forgives those who confess. He is also the Creator of the universe, who is able to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. He is Abba, who heals the brokenhearted and raises the dead to new life. He is the One who bids us to come to Him in our weakness, neediness, and filth, so that we might see His strength, abundance, and cleansing power.

Jesus invites us, “Let all My children come unto Me in faith to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”