I remember when I was four years old and my family was moving from Washington, DC to California. I think we moved because of my father’s job, but as a child the reason didn’t matter. The family car was huge as most cars were in those days–I’ve been told it was a 1952 Dodge. I think it was brand new. During part of the trip we went straight through the desert. I remember my father had to get the car repainted shortly after we arrived in California because we encountered a sand storm that pitted the paint.
Seatbelts didn’t exist for cars at the time of this trip so we three kids (six, four, and three) could move about as long as we stayed in the back. Above the back seat was something we called the “window well”. We took turns lying up there to look out the window as we drove. (Does anyone besides me remember that?) The back seat was our bedroom and our living room. My parents fixed up this space by putting our belongings on the floor boards and then topping it with plywood and a full-sized mattress. This gave us plenty of room for sleep and play.
My mother didn’t have a driver’s license so my father did all the driving. I know it had to be tiring for him. But we didn’t think about that, and as far as we kids knew, we were as safe as if we were playing at home. There were games, Lincoln Logs, our Little Golden Books, and other toys from our home. No one told us we didn’t have to worry about anything as we traveled. We just didn’t worry. We were completely unaware that we were traveling 3,000 miles in five days–over 12 hours a day on the road. But we were safe in our little world. That’s the faith of a child. Jesus refers to that kind of faith in Mark 10:15. To a child it’s a faith that needs no explanation.
Jesus said we need that kind of faith to get into heaven. It’s not analytical. It’s not questioning. It’s real. It’s tangible. The area in the back seat of our car wasn’t like our home; it was our home. When we were playing, we were playing on our bed at home. And when we slept, we were sleeping on our bed at home. It wasn’t like our bed; it was our bed. Just as safe. Just as secure. No one told us that. We just knew it. That’s child-like faith.
The writer of Hebrews describes faith so adults can understand it in chapter 11, verse 1, when he says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is substance. It’s real. Faith is evidence. It’s tangible. As children we don’t need those fancy words to understand faith. We just know. There’s no reason not to. As adults, it’s different. Jesus said, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Do you remember that kind of faith? I do. I just wish life didn’t make it so hard to understand it now that I’m grown up. I wish Hebrews 11:1 didn’t have to be written.
Thom Fishow
May 16, 2010