Out of the mouths of babes…

While shopping, I overheard two young mothers discussing how their kids were repeating the bad language they had picked up at school. One let out a laugh and said “Well, you know what they say, ‘Out of the mouths of babes!’”

Both ladies shared a chuckle and then migrated to another subject. I was riveted by the false impression that they had of the wonderful truth found in Psalm 8:2. “Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have ordained praise… to silence the foe and the avenger.”

I have children of my own; five daughters as a matter of fact. I remember when my oldest girls were in their pre-school years. They, like children you probably know, radiated the true meaning of this passage: They loved to talk about Jesus and shared Him with their friends, family and even with complete strangers.

Here are just a few samples from my little girls…

A mountainside experience
One Sunday afternoon, my oldest daughter was in our backyard playing with one of the neighbor kids. I watched out the window as they stared up the hillside that, to them, seemed to reach up to the skies.

“What do you think is at the top of the hill?” my youngster asked.
“I think that Heaven is up there” her pal replied.
Suddenly, my little sweetie began climbing the hill.
“Where are you going?”  the little girl asked from the valley below.
“I’m going to meet Jesus!”

Out of the mouths of babes…

Good medicine
While lounging with me in a busy hosptial waiting room, my oldest daughter found a children’s Bible in a heap of magazines. She noted that Jesus was on the cover and, in a moment of excitement, ran over to a rough-looking, biker dude that no one would even sit by, placed the Bible in his lap and asked nicely, “Will you read me a story about Jesus?” I watched as the the tough guy thought about it and then sat my child on his knee, opened up the Bible and read, perhaps for the first time, the gospel account.

Out of the mouths of babes…

Out of the darkness
One of my daughters, at the tender age of three, observed me staring into the darkness of our home’s crawl-space with a flashlight. I was debating whether I wanted to crawl in there and get dirty or to call the local plumbing expert. She knew from the twisted look on my face that I didn’t want to go in. She walked over to where I was, knelt down quietly and asked ever so softly, “Daddy, is that Hell?”

Out of the mouths of babes…

Jesus understood this “childish” concept all too well. As is recorded in Matthew 21:15-16, one day while children were dancing around his feet singing “Hosanna to the Son of David,” the priests and religious leaders asked Jesus if he heard what they were saying about him. The Lord replied with a smile, “Well, you know what they say, ‘Out of the mouths of babes…’”

The sum of the matter
If you are like me, you’ve seen many a child worship the Lord shamelessly. Grownups like us can learn a lot from the theology that children live by. They find wonderfully creative ways to share the powerful and timeless truths found in God’s Word.

Jesus once said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”  -Matthew 19:14