BE LIKE A LITTLE CHILD: BE CURIOUS, ASK QUESTIONS
A true disciple is a curious, eager learner. The way disciples learn is by listening to God’s spoken voice. They can also learn by reading the Bible while listening to God’s voice. Disciples never try to learn while listening to false prophets, but they will learn from true prophets.

A unique characteristic of exceptional learners is that they know that there are gaps in their knowledge, and they are curious and driven to fill those gaps. They are never fully comfortable with the fact that God has hidden mysteries in the Bible that have not yet been revealed to them. This discontent is a mark of a true disciple.  When God encouraged his people to seek him with all their heart, mind soul and strength, he was essentially telling them to be an eager learner regarding knowledge of him.

Little children are exceptional learners. Because everything is new to them, they are always asking questions. They know that they are ignorant and they are not ashamed to expose their ignorance by asking questions. This is the attitude that marks a true disciple. That is why Jesus made a point of inviting little children to come to him for teaching. He said that his followers had to become like little children and that the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like little children in their desire to learn.

STUDY TIP: See this link for more about the importance of being curious and asking questions.

Jesus’ invitation to little children is for religious people to become disciples who listen to God’s spoken voice. In a gentle, subtle way he is saying that anyone who wants to enter the kingdom of God must stop listening to the voices of religious leaders and start listening to God’s word spoken through him. Contrary to what christians teach, he is not saying that people should come to him because he has some special, mysterious, life-giving qualities that people can acquire just by being close to him. Jesus is only a son of man. He is not God. The special qualities that Jesus had is that God anointed Jesus had is that God anointed him to speak for him to people who, because of their hard hearts, could not hear God’s voice directly. Believing in Jesus means believing his words — not believing in him as a man.

STUDY TIP: See Belief and Trust for understanding of the difference between believing in Jesus the man and believing Jesus’ words.

The distinguishing characteristic of religious people, however, is that they listen to false prophets (i.e. idols/religious leaders.) Jesus’ invitation, therefore, is to stop listening to false prophets and start listening to God’s voice.

A stronghold of religious wrong thinking has convinced generations of Jews and christians that they are already listening to God’s voice when they listen to their religious leaders. Anyone who tries to tell them that this is wrong thinking can expect to be rejected and persecuted. We know that because persecution is what Jesus and other true prophets received when they told religious people to stop their detestable practices (e.g. following idols, listening to false prophets, etc.) and start listening to God’s voice.

This message is difficult for Jews and christians to accept. Each religion is well established in its beliefs and practices and does not want to change. Because most people who subscribe to Judaism and christianity can cite scriptures that support these practices and beliefs, they will not easily accept any contrary teachings. And not only will they not accept contrary teachings, they will persecute anyone who challenges their beliefs.

Religious people constantly reinforce their strongholds of wrong thinking by going to religious meetings and by reading scriptures that support their religious beliefs and practices. They return to the scriptures that they know well but rarely venture into scriptures they don’t know and don’t understand. Everything they do   reinforces their beliefs. They never open their minds or hearts up to any teaching or Bible interpretations that would challenge their beliefs. This constant reinforcement has an addictive, toxic effect that is so strong that it can be overcome only when they hear God’s spoken voice. Only God’s voice (symbolically called blood) has the power to tear down these religious strongholds.

Even though their religious routines (e.g. meetings, prayer, Bible study, music, etc.) vary little from month to month or year to year, religious people like to think that keeping busy with religious activity satisfies God’s commands to ask, seek and knock with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. Because they know these routines and think they understand the scriptures that call for these routines, they think they are wise about spiritual matters. And as long as they think they are wise, they will not ask questions like a little child. Being full of worldly wisdom, they remain spiritually blind and spiritually deaf without even a hint of a notion that God actually hates all their religious activity.

It is true that religious people are asking, seeking and knocking, but they do not understand that they are asking the wrong people (i.e. False Prophets) and are seeking the wrong things in the wrong places. If they understood that all God wants from them is a clean, pure heart, they would rest (i.e. quit) from all of their religious activity and begin listening to hear God’s voice in their hearts.