Out of Sorts: Making Sense of an Evolving Faith

by Sarah Bessey

When we’re sorting things out, when we dare to ask questions, sometimes someone will pat us on the head and say, “Well, you know, you need to have faith like a child.”3 Pat, pat, pat, right on the head. Patronize, patronize, patronize, right on the soul. Just stop wondering, stop wrestling. You aren’t supposed to be a grown-up in the kingdom, darling, you’re supposed to be like a child and accept what you’ve been taught and stop asking questions. Trust the truth you’ve been given. To which I now respectfully ask: I’m sorry, but have you ever been around a child for any amount of time? Because let me tell you, kids ask a lot of questions. My tinies ask questions constantly. They want to know where the Eiffel Tower is and why it’s there and why don’t my friends go to church and why can’t I marry Daddy and what time is it in China and what colors make pink and do you want to hear this song and why does this bug tickle me and why did Jesus die on the cross and why can’t I watch this show and why do I need to sleep and on and on and on. There is a natural curiosity that is inherent to children. I think it’s a bit dishonest to use “Have faith like a child” as a way to shut a person down. Like, somehow, it means we’re not supposed to wonder, we’re just supposed to accept. Now that I have a house full of small humanity, I think I’m beginning to understand why Jesus would encourage us to have faith like a child. They don’t know. And so they ask. We don’t know. And so we ask. The as...