Let’s always be childlike

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S what Christ wants us to be. In that gospel episode where the disciples were discussing who among them was the greatest, Christ jolted them by putting a child in their midst and said the following:

“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.” (Lk 9,48)

And if we wonder why that is so, the only answer we can think of is that having the spirit of a child, who is always simple and trusting, would enable us to accept Christ without any difficulty and to accept everybody else as well irrespective of how they are.

We have to be wary of losing this spirit of a child, especially as we grow in age, knowledge and experience. The ideal condition should be that the older we get, the more knowledgeable and experienced in life we become, the more childlike we should also become. Otherwise, we would surely lose our touch with Christ.

Yes, it always pays to be simple, humble and childlike, because as St. Paul once reminded us: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” (1 Cor 1,27-29) Of course, St. Peter said something similar: “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” (1 Pt 5,5)

Amid the complexities of our life today, we have to learn to stay humble and simple because that is the basic way to precisely handle these complexities well. When we are humble and simple, we would know how to blend openness, tolerance and versatility on the one hand, and to stick to the truth in charity on the other hand.

It is genuine humility and simplicity that would enable us to face the complexities of our life because these are the virtues that liken and identify us with Christ. And with Christ, we can manage to tackle anything.

That is why Christ said: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Mt 11,29-30)

Of course, this is a mysterious and intriguing kind of reasoning that Christ is telling us. And that is simply because he is telling us something that is mainly spiritual and supernatural in character. He is not giving us an indication that is meant to tackle purely natural situations and predicaments.

We have to realize that our life does not only have material, temporal and natural dimensions. It has an eminently spiritual and supernatural character for which the spiritual and supernatural means are more important and necessary than the natural ones.

Humility and simplicity are the virtues that would make us acknowledge that we are nothing without God. They sort of open our soul for the grace of God to enter. And it is this grace that transforms us, irrespective of our human impotencies, mistakes and errors, into becoming children of God.

Let’s try our best to remain childlike always!