Matthew 19:14 English Standard Version (ESV) but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Yesterday we spoke about babies and that some of the difficulties associated with recognizing that we do not know anything about kingdom living when we become born again. There is a spiritual awakening, called the quickening, that occurs and it takes time to recognize these changes.

Babies are meant to grow up and the next stage in kingdom living is childhood. Once again, there is the resistance in the flesh to see ourselves in terms of spiritual growth because we have achieved mental growth and some maturity in the world. They are not the same and this can be confusing to some.

People grow at different rates and it might be difficult for others to recognize the initiate’s development from baby to child. Jesus tries to help us understand that transition here in Matthew 19:14.

The first stages of childhood begins with learning to walk. Kingdom children learn to walk with Jesus and learn about Him directly from the Holy Spirit. This will happen because as babies they had a healthy diet of the Word. The healthier the diet the better their spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit will do what He does best without being overly obvious. It takes time for children to understand they are being instructed by the Holy Spirit as they have pastors, teachers and fellow Christians in their lives trying to help them grow in Christ.

The influences of others can hinder the development of those spiritual ears and eyes. Errors in discipleship can come with good intentions because that is the way they were taught. What needs to happen during these first years of childhood is to develop those spiritual ears and eyes to receive instruction directly from the Spirit of Truth.

1 Corinthians 8:2 English Standard Version (ESV) If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.