“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” - Mark 10:15
(A note: this is a rather rambly post, I realize, but I also realize that if I’m going to get better writing, I have to write. So I will be trying to write more, this coming year.)
Our Utter Dependence on Christ
It is so often that the path laid out for us by the Lord defies the world’s conventional wisdom. The world espouses the virtues of independent self-reliance and personal strength. It tells us so often that we must be strong, self-sufficient adults who do everything on our own. And whilst that model serves its purpose in our own realm, it stands in total contrast to the relationship God asks us to have with Him.
In the Bible we are called to childlike dependence on our Lord. To the trust and humility befitting a little child and their beloved parent. In the Gospel of Mark1 we are told explicitly that we may only enter our Lord’s Kingdom if we receive it “as a little child”. Here, Christ is calling us to complete and utter dependence on Him, just as a little child completely unable to do anything for themselves.
In Matthew 11:252 Jesus thanks God for His having revealed the truths of the Kingdom of Heaven not to the wise and learned, but to little children — nepioi in Greek, literally “infants”. Through the Gospel Christ calls us to utter dependence on Him no less than that of an infant to their parent. Take note of how strong this language is! Babies do not possess wisdom, and they can accomplish nothing on their own. They are utterly helpless and dependent on the care of their parents. This is precisely our relationship to our Lord. We rely completely on His love and grace for not only our forgiveness and redemption, but truly our every need.
Coming to Jesus, with Julian of Norwich
All our life is in three: 'Nature, Mercy, Grace.' The high Might of the Trinity is our Father, and the deep Wisdom of the Trinity is our Mother, and the great Love of the Trinity is our Lord. (…) And thus in our making, God, Almighty, is our Nature's Father; and God, All-Wisdom, is our Nature's Mother; with the Love and the Goodness of the Holy Ghost: which is all one God, one Lord.
Julian of Norwich, 14th century English anchoress and mystic, spoke repeatedly to this divine relationship of childlike trust and dependence in her great work ‘Revelations of Divine Love’.
In chapters 59, 60, and 613, particularly, Julian delves into the infinite and unconditional love of God, a theme she paints through an image of God as parent, with different persons of the Trinity taking on both different divine attributes, as well as familial roles in His loving care for us. Among these are her famously frequent imbuing of feminine qualities to Jesus, and extensive reference to Christ as our Mother. Julian, in a very dear and profound manner, with the most delicate and sweet language, illustrates the tender and nurturing aspects of God’s love for us, showing how Christ, in His maternal capacity, enfolds us in a love that is both protective and utterly compassionate.
"But oftentimes when our falling and our wretchedness is shewed us, we are so sore adread, and so greatly ashamed of our self, that scarcely we find where we may hold us. But then willeth not our courteous Mother that we flee away, for Him were nothing lother.
But He willeth then that we use the condition of a child: for when it is hurt, or adread, it runneth hastily to the mother for help, with all its might. So willeth He that we do, as a meek child saying thus: My kind Mother, my Gracious Mother, my dearworthy Mother, have mercy on me: I have made myself foul and unlike to Thee, and I nor may nor can amend it but with thine help and grace.
And if we feel us not then eased forthwith, be we sure that He useth the condition of a wise mother. For if He see that it be more profit to us to mourn and to weep, He suffereth it, with ruth and pity, unto the best time, for love. And He willeth then that we use the property of a child, that evermore of nature trusteth to the love of the mother in weal and in woe."
Julian suggests that in moments of fear and failure, rather than withdrawing in shame or fear, we are called to turn to Christ just as a frightened or hurting child would seek out their mother. Particularly in this passage Julian draws a wonderful image of Christian repentance, and how we should, in our sin, offer an ardent plea to our Lord, acknowledging our faults and seeking the mercy and grace of our beloved Jesus. Just as a child admitting a mistake and seeking reassurance and help from a loving parent.
What’s more, Julian portrays our journey with God as one marked by a series of falls and rises, where each stumble, rather than distancing us from God, brings us closer to comprehending His unfathomable love and mercy. Julian suggests what is evident through Scripture and our experience, that, sometimes, for our greater good, God may allow us to experience pain, and sorrow. In Julian’s beautiful framing this is never a sign of God’s abandonment, but rather an expression of a wise mother’s love, allowing His little one to endure some hardship for a time when it serves a greater purpose, with us all the while and at every misstep, coming back toward our God with repentance and that same childlike humility.
Julian’s beautiful words show us a clear and intimate picture of God’s love that may otherwise be unappreciated. Her maternal imagery helps us to understand the closeness and safety we can find in our relationship with Jesus, and encourages us to approach God with the same trust and submission that a child has toward their mother, confident in the knowledge that we are loved, understood, and cherished unconditionally, and ready to be molded in righteousness and taken in by the Kingdom of God.
Note molded in righteousness — it is not so we may stay the same, that we surrender to God, but so that He, in his love, will sanctify and redeem us.
Following and Repentance
There are no surer guides for us in our daily walk with Christ than the words of Holy Scripture, combined with the wisdom of the Saints. On just this topic we find harmonious truth in the teachings of Holy Scripture and tender reflections of Julian of Norwich. Scripture, always the sufficient rule of life for a Christian containing all necessary for our salvation, provides for us with a sure foundation and compass that will lead us not astray.
Scripture teaches us that repentance, and following the path of Christ is not something we should expect to bear the mark of perfection, but rather an ongoing journey of turning towards God’s love and grace4. It is important to recognize that sin, which brings us separation from God and necessarily death, is a deviation from this path God has set for us. At once however, God’s boundless grace and tender kindness offers us always a way back. Always a path of redemption through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and a humble and contrite heart: through our being like little children, and putting our total trust in God and His ways of mercy and love, and not ourselves.
In this path, we are called to embrace a childlike faith - a faith that is unpretentious, reliant, and trusting. Just as a child depends utterly on their parents for care, guidance, and protection, we too are invited to depend wholly on God for our spiritual nourishment, direction, and security. It is in recognizing our own limitations and surrendering ourselves to God’s will that we find true freedom, unshackled by sin5.
As we continue to follow Jesus, “our dearworthy Mother” as Julian of Norwich may say, may we hold fast to these teachings, allowing them to guide us in moments of struggle, sin, and temptation. Let us be like little children, humble and trusting, and let us remember that every stumble is a chance for better, and our repentance and penitence always a path toward deeper communion with God. In our vulnerabilities, may we find strength; in our penitence, may we discover grace; and in our childlike faith, may we be drawn ever closer to the love and Wisdom of God.
“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Mark 10:15
See also Matthew 18:3-4 “and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Matthew 11:25