Abiding With Childlike Faith

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, April 28th, 2024:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

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1 John
3.18-24
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​Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and God knows everything.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever obeys his commandments abides in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

As I sit to write this reflection, I’m nearing the end of a Sacramental Preparation journey with 11 young children. It has been the joy of my current faith life to journey with these young ones, as they learn and try to understand ideas and concepts found in our rich and vibrant Catholic faith.

Indeed, it is so refreshing to see my young friends preparing for their First Reconciliation and to see them making an effort to “obey His commandments and do what pleases Him.” Journeying with them has been a refresher course for me, as far as my faith goes. God’s forgiving nature is a simple truth that my young friends have grasped in an instant, even though it takes me time to understand this merciful attribute of God. 

Undeniably, I see glimpses of Jesus in the questions asked by these young kids. It reminds me of the young Jesus in the temple, who did not hesitate to question teachers of the law.

Our Second Reading this week, taken from the First Letter of Saint John highlights two features of God:

1. God is greater than our hearts.
2. God knows everything.

God is greater than our hearts. He is greater than how we feel about Him. He is able to penetrate our stony hearts and make them soft as cotton. He is able to overcome the fears that stop us from reaching out to him. He loves us even more than we are able to understand. He looks on us like little children and loves us more than any adoring parent would.

God knows everything. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows our past, our present, and our future. He knows the deepest secrets of our hearts, ones that we may be unaware of. He knows our circumstances and our hurts. He knows our dreams and our desires. He alone knows what is good for us. And more often than not, choosing to let Him lead us does not come naturally to us because, like stubborn children, we very often think we know better than He does.

Consequently, like children, we struggle to see the purpose in things being done. We have doubts, and we have questions. But then again, God wants us to abide in Him with childlike faith – faith that knows that God is in control, faith that trusts that He will always show us the way; we have only to ask. We have only to “obey his commandments and do what pleases him.”

Lord Jesus, bless me with childlike faith. Let the joy of discovery burn bright in my faith life. Help me always to come to you when I’m in doubt. Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.



Rebecca Dmello​

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