Faith Like a Child: Embracing Our Lives as Children of God

by Lacy Finn Borgo

Embrace the invitation of childlike faith. A well-known challenge of Jesus to his followers is to become like little children. But it's often difficult to remember the natural patterns of our childhood selves that enabled us to live freely in God's wonder-filled presence. Is childlike faith simply an unquestioning faith, or is it being present with ourselves in a way that invites healing and wholeness? Faith Like a Child considers Jesus' invitation to childlike faith and explores seven distinct ways of welcoming the child within. Offering wisdom from years of experience as a spiritual director with both adults and children, Lacy Finn Borgo explores practices to welcome and enliven your childhood self. Offering examples of what becoming like children could look like, Borgo invites you to take Jesus up on his offer to live more deeply into a relationship with God. As we welcome our childhood selves, we allow God to heal our wounds so we can live in freedom with Jesus as our companion.

Genres: Christian, Faith, Nonfiction, Spirituality

176 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2023

About the author

Lacy Finn Borgo teaches and provides spiritual direction for the Renovaré Institute, for the DMin. in Spiritual Direction at Fuller Theological Seminary and at Portland Seminary. Lacy provides spiritual direction for adults through GoodDirtMinistries.org and provides spiritual direction for children at Haven House. She is the author of Life with God for Children: A Curriculum for the Spiritual Formation of Children and Good Dirt: A Devotional for the Spiritual Formation of Families, both can be found on her website. Her forthcoming book Spiritual Conversations with Children: Listening to God Together will be released in March 2020 through IVP.

Reviews

[Conrade Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus taught us in the gospels to welcome the children and not to prevent them from going to Him. Is that welcome only for little kids? Not really. Are adults excluded? Surely not. For the moment we pray "Abba Father," we see ourselves as children of God. Furthermore, didn't Jesus also teach us to be like little children, for such belongs the Kingdom of God? Indeed, the way to the Kingdom is via the attitude of childlikeness. Here's the problem. Many of us who are adults no longer know the significance of childlikeness. We confuse it with childishness. We tend to segregate our understanding of children more in terms of age rather than attitude. Perhaps, the practice of reuniting our hearts with our childhood selves can bring back not only greater innocence but also spiritual wonder. How do we do that? What then does it mean to have faith like a child? Do we have to deny our adulthood in order to go back to childhood? This book is about learning how to cultivate a childlike heart as part of a maturing faith. Author Lacy Finn Borgo first takes us through the Bible to notice the frequency of the word "welcome." As far as God is concerned, He is always welcoming and invites us into His Presence. Borgo shows us the traits of a child such as the capacity for play, wonder, dependence, and a deep awareness of the bodies God had given us. She shares heartfelt gratitude even after a mastectomy, reminding us that we need to avoid splitting ourselves into body and spirit. Whether it is a broken body or a broken spirit, while the world tries to separate them, learning to accept them is a better path toward healing. A grateful heart is one powerful way to unite our restless minds with our broken selves.

One of the things often forgotten by adults is the need to play. Also forgotten is that God also plays. Using Ps 104 to show us this aspect of God, we see how God's creativity and playfulness go hand in hand. Such a posture brings about joy in creation. Borgo uses stories to show us the need for childlikeness in order to appreciate the spirituality of play. Other aspects include singing, praying, reading, humour, imagination, freedom to learn, and the need to pay attention. Each chapter ends with a few "welcoming practices."

My Thoughts
==============
Childlikeness has often been a passing thought in the minds of many adults, especially those who have been believers for many years. People being people tend to become creatures of habit over time. Thinking that they have grown up, they do a mental dichotomy that childhood and adulthood are separate from each other. Referring to Jesus' teaching about childlikeness, many tend to limit it to innocence and purity. What is missing is the bridge to help adults move away from a self-perceived sense of implied maturity just because of age and experience. The problem is this. Some adults behave in childish ways, thinking that they have the right to behave whatever they want to behave. Truth is, the key to spiritual maturity is through the path of childlikeness. This is stressed over and over throughout this excellent book. I do not remember reading a book-sized resource that centers on the need to cultivate childlikeness. Many books talked about childlikeness. Apart from a passing comment or a short reference, rarely is there one that focuses on this childlike attribute. Thankfully, in this book, we get a meaty dose of growing in this aspect of spirituality. Sometimes I wonder. Why is it so difficult for grown people to appreciate the need for childlike spirituality? Can we blame it on a declining birth rate that leads to a declining children's population? Perhaps. Are adults not spending enough time with children? Maybe. What about childless couples or people experiencing empty nests? Churches too are greying communities. That in itself makes it difficult to attract young people and children into their midst. Who wants to go to a Church where adults are stuck-up people, glum, stern, and only talk about stern stuff? Nobody enjoys a stoic environment. Children can perceive the atmosphere quickly whether it is welcoming or not. For that reason, I believe this book is a valuable resource to help us, especially adults of all ages, to rediscover the need to create a welcoming atmosphere and community.

This book reminds me of the irony of life. The way to maturity is via childlikeness. There are some adults who behave like spoilt brats. There are also young children who show graciousness in their actions. In fact, Jesus reminds us that unless we become like little children, we will not enter the kingdom of God. That is serious stuff. One famous quote (attributed to George Bernard Shaw) reminds us of the connection between aging and playing. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stopped playing." Perhaps, the path to gracious aging is playing. Don't take life too seriously. Learn to laugh, even at ourselves. Keep learning, which is what discipleship is all about. There are many lessons in this book on what childlikeness is. Readers of all ages should be able to benefit. I find the "welcoming practices" sections particularly helpful. Not only do they provide practical things to cultivate childlikeness, but they also serve as a summary of the key concepts in the chapter.

In summary, the older one gets, the more one needs to learn about childlikeness. Let this book be the guide on not only cultivating our faith like a child but also on how to age well.

Lacy Finn Borgo teaches and provides spiritual direction with adults and children through Renovaré, Mercy Center Burlingame, and the Companioning Center. She especially loves meeting with children at Haven House, a transitional facility for families without homes. She holds a doctor of ministry degree in leadership and spiritual formation and a certificate in spiritual direction from Portland Seminary. Borgo is also the author of Spiritual Conversations with Children.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

[Kristy Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times this book was hard for me to read, for I tend to be more serious in matters of religion. It stresses that one must think as a child in faith and to not take everything so seriously. It has many good points, though, on living the christian life and embracing a healthy sense of wonder and humor. I received a free copy for an honest review on Netgalley.

[Vonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a heaping spoonful of the word of God, with an added pinch of the mystics and a dash of Richard Rohr, alongside the author’s widely read background and life experiences.

Though I’m only giving this book 3 stars, it is not without merit. I found plenty to ponder, as well as encouragement to continue in a posture of growth and learning while maintaining a childlike faith. I will explain what I did and did not appreciate.

This book is laid out with questions and spiritual practice suggestions at the end of each chapter. One such suggestion made me pause. It said to, “Find a space where you can create a small altar reminding you of God's generous way and your identity as beloved of God. Place pictures of yourself as a child on your altar.” This bothered me. I realize the author probably meant this as an act of surrender. Place your childhood photo on the altar and surrender all that has happened to you that has stolen your innocence and offer that which is holding you back from living in a childlike fashion. However, it does simultaneously seem odd to kneel at an altar where your own picture is setting upon the altar.

I also found the book repetitive to some extent. In one specific example the author discusses the same verse, 1 Corinthians 13, twice in span of four pages. It’s as if she didn’t realize she had just discussed that same exact verse.

Now I’ll get to what I appreciated. I do believe this topic of childlike faith is important. Too many Christians seem to focus on knowledge about God, but don’t let that knowing sink heart deep to allow a constant communion/relationship with God. I know I struggle to abide in Him. The author shared this: “We can house our faith in our heads with very little risk, but we will also have very little life.” We so manage our lives and faith that we don’t make room for spontaneity, risk or wonder. That sucks the life right out of our faith. Similarly, the author noted, “Worry and its cousin, anxiety, are products of imagination at the service of fear. But young children use their imagination in the service of wonder, curiosity, exploration, and play.” I appreciated her practice of asking, “Holy Spirit, open my imagination to solutions that I can't see."

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up.

We all know that Jesus told his followers that they should have "faith like a child," but what does that mean? Throughout this book, Lacy Finn Borgo shares her perspective on how we can develop a childlike sense of faith by reflecting on our childhood experiences and embracing childhood behaviors such as play, imagination, and the willingness to experience wonder and make mistakes. She says that instead of viewing childhood as an inferior stage of development that we move beyond, we should reclaim the best elements of childhood by imagining, playing, and depending on God. She contends that changing our attitudes and behaviors will help us have better relationships with ourselves, with God, and with the children in our lives.

Faith Like a Child shares helpful insights for people from different upbringings. Borgo encourages people who grew up in the church to reflect on their early spiritual experiences and ways that they connected with the divine, but she also acknowledges those who did not encounter Christianity until later in life, or who experienced distorted views of God in an unhealthy environment. She doesn't idealize childhood, and acknowledges the loss of innocence that many people experience too early. I especially liked the chapter about processing wounds from the past and present, accepting the cycles of life instead of believing that we should experience linear success and improvement.

Borgo shares a variety of personal stories throughout the book, writing about her own struggles, her family, and her experiences interacting with children as an educator and all-ages spiritual director. Her knowledge and respect for childhood come through clearly, and she suggests ways that people can shift their paradigms to have a different experience of being God's child. Borgo asks reflection questions for people to apply the book's content to themselves, and she also suggests various practices. Some of these seemed too out there for me, such as creating an altar with a picture of your childhood self on it. It's clear that the goal is to worship God, not yourself, but readers who don't resonate with this will need to come up with their own ways to apply the same concepts.

I wish that Borgo had engaged with 1 Corinthians 13:11, which is the most obvious counterargument someone could make to her thesis. The verse says, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." I thought it was odd that Borgo never addressed this verse to explain how you can hold this truth in tension with the idea that we should also return to childhood ways of processing that we have lost to unhealthy expressions of adulthood. She writes about other things that adults say to distance themselves from their childhood selves, but she never brings up this Bible verse. However, since I read an advance copy of this book, it is possible that this will change before publication.

Faith Like a Child is a unique book with a helpful perspective on faith. People's mileage will vary based on how much they relate to the author's stories and perspective, but each chapter includes helpful ideas to ponder and apply, even though this will require creativity in some cases. The author's examples are often specific to women's experiences and concerns, even to the point where I didn't relate just because I have different problems, am younger, and am not a mother. Since this is not marketed as a women's book, I want to mention how heavily woman-focused the examples are, so that women like me and men can go into this with the mindset of learning from the author's wisdom without expecting to feel represented by many stories or examples. With the right expectations, this is a generally helpful guide and reflection tool.

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Adam Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: An exploration of what it means to "become like little children."

Faith Like a Child was the most recent of the Renovaré book club selections. I have followed along with the book club for the past few years. I appreciate the ability to have small groups that meet in person or online or to participate in an online message board. Or just just listen to the podcasts and read the articles. Generally, I just listen to the podcasts and read the articles because I already participate in an in-person and an online book group, and I allow the Renovare books to fill in as I have time. I previously read the excellent book by Borgo on spiritual direction to children.

I am probably exactly the type of person who needs to read Faith Like a Child. I am overly serious, very interested in acquiring knowledge, not particularly interested in play, and was routinely told I was mature for my age as a child. It is not that I think that play is bad, but it tends to be something I have to work on.

Borgo and I are not too far apart in age, but her children are adults, and mine were late in life and so are still in mid-elementary school. There are definitely things that you learn as a parent about how to perceive the world through the eyes of a child. Faith Like a Child has many stories of parenting and working with children. It has many stories of the struggle to enjoy life or see the world with eyes of wonder.

It also assumes that the work to live well as a Christian who "becomes like a little child" will need practice. There are many recommended activities and books at the end of every chapter. As a spiritual director, one of the things I need to do is read books and try practices that don't feel like they are for me. Because not every practice is for every person. However, as a spiritual director, I need some familiarity with the practices and spiritual activities that may be helpful for people who are not me. Two things that came up in spiritual direction sessions this past month or so were originally suggested in Faith Like a Child.

That being said, this book felt a bit off for me, and I am not entirely sure why. I can see the benefit of embracing wonder, play, rest, and many other things suggested here, but I have been very oriented toward maturity lately. One of my contentions is that evangelicalism has embraced pragmatic efficiency and "results" more than spiritual and emotional maturity. Maturity does take work. In some ways, I think that part of what Borgo is calling us to avoid the false dichotomy of "child-like" and immaturity. We can be emotionally and spiritually mature Christians and still play and enjoy life. And the false maturity of appearing to be above play and laughter is a rejection of real maturity. There is a false piety that rejects play as being too worldly and assumes spiritual things are serious.

I agree with all of the book's main contentions. And I think, especially as someone who finds play a bit hard, I think I need to hear the message of the book. But still, it just didn't hit me like I wanted it to, and I might have abandoned it if it was not part of a book club. Overall, I think the problem was probably me, not the book, but it did not grab me.


This was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/faith-like-a-child/

[Rob Seabrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, it is clear that this book just oozes love, which makes it a pleasure to read. It is written from a place of realness, honesty and humility, coupled with an expertise in psychology that seems to have been gained from a combination of academic study and life experiences. At times it is poetically written by someone who seems well qualified to speak into our lives and address our relationship with the Father, with frequent references to scripture throughout.
We read that children need relationship and connection, especially from a parent. At some point in our "growing up" we decide that we need power, which in fact is a bit wide of the mark. All we ever truly need is that relationship and connection.
The author gives it a very personal touch, sharing her own deep personal journey of faith and as well as her knowing she is a child of God. It is adorned with some very personal testimonies to illustrate the points being made - the bravery in sharing them is really appreciated.
As a Foster carer I have received some training and instruction on attachment theories and practices, the psychology surrounding how people relate to each other and especially how children relate to parents and carers. So it was quite fascinating to read how these theories can also be applied, sensibly, to our relationship with Father God. It is quite helpful in assessing the depth of relationship.
The book covers some psychology, which works to highlight how God has made us thinking, emotional beings with complicated personalities and phenomenally created brains.
I especially enjoyed the chapter on play and its importance. I found myself thinking about being intentionally less serious...
Read the full review at https://www.robseabrook.com/faith-lik...

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the most fun, enjoyable trip back into being a child, raising a child, and how I might be closer to my great and grandchildren. Lacy Finn Borgo explores Jesus’ instruction “You must become like Children to enter the kingdom of God”. Oh, the beauty of exploring imagination, humor, play, and wonder which are still alive in us. She introduced the lovely book using the word Welcome (a wished for guest) which combines “to will or desire” and “to come”. Her humor and personal examples where fresh and took the reader right into the mind of a child, and how they experience the simplest of things.
10 Chapters which ended in welcoming practices, that both introduce titles, fun exercises and ways to remember our selves as child. Lacy holds a doctor of ministry in leadership and spiritual formation and a spiritual direction from Portland seminary. She truly sees the world through a lens of grace. As we welcome our childhood selves, we allow God to heal our wounds so we can live in freedom.
At the end of the book’ she presents 5 sessions of study has scripture and great questions to deepen your invitation to a childlike faith. I loved her bibliography with great new references. It would be a great gift for a new mother, a new grandmother or anyone who lives part of their live in the world of children. Jesus, himself experiences life as an infant, toddler, a child, a tween and an adolescent with the fears and questions we all had. This book is best done with another adult as we explore our first moment of “wonder” was them, or a very small group, even husband and wife exploring their past and the future.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith Like a Child
Embracing Our Lives as Children of God
by Lacy Finn Borgo
Pub Date 09 May 2023
InterVarsity Press, IVP
Christian | Nonfiction (Adult) | Religion & Spirituality


I am reviewing a copy of Faith Like A Child through Intervarsity Press, IVP and Netgalley:



Faith Like A Child encourages readers to accept and embrace the invitation to a childlike Faith. Jesus encouraged his followers to become like little children. But we often have different in remembering the natural patterns of our childhood selves that enabled us to live freely in God's wonder-filled presence. Is childlike faith simply an unquestioning faith, or is it being present with ourselves in a way that invites healing and wholeness?


In Faith Like A Child we are encouraged to consider Jesus' invitation to childlike faith and explores seven distinct ways of welcoming the child within. Offering wisdom from years of experience as a spiritual director with both adults and children, Lacy Finn Borgo explores practices to welcome and enliven your childhood self.



I give Faith Like A Child five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Grace Prasetyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, the author Lacy Finn Borgo invites the reader on a rich journey of remembering and rediscovering the gifts of childhood— and finding healing in the process. As a mother of young children myself, and as a teacher of young children, I found this book interesting to read, as Borgo invited me to learn from the children around me.

And as we remember our childhood, Borgo shares how our image of God is interrelated. The wounds and the wonder of our childhood years still impact us today. How we attached to our parents often impacts our perspective of God. Borgo invites the reader on a journey of healing, learning to accept ourselves, look at the world in wonder, and embrace the spirituality of play. Children teach us to not take ourselves so seriously, to celebrate and constantly learn, and to pay attention to all that is around us.

Not only does Borgo share reflections on having faith like a child, but she also interweaves scripture passages that specifically relate to children. Throughout the book, she also shares deeply and personally from her own journey— the beautiful and the hard.

This is a profound book. I highly recommend it.

[Carmen Kinniburgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lacy identifies key areas from which adults can benefit in learning from how children interact with and perceive their world and their spirituality. Each chapter offers practical ways for the reader to explore how to reflect upon and apply their learnings, as well as offering further reading and resources. Lacy doesn’t approach her key ideas as the expert who has it all together and therefore is the smartest in the room. Rather, with authenticity and humility she offers her observations, her failures, her own story, and her experiences from parenting, teaching, and spiritual direction to point towards the true hero of the story: Jesus. Jesus who loves and welcomes children, inviting adults to recognize the simple but profound beauty of having faith like a child.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lacy Borgo invites us to reclaim something valuable that we've lost... our childlike nature and faith. This is an excellent presentation of what Jesus meant by 'becoming like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of God.' Lacy leads us in reclaiming our innocence, imagination, wonder, curiosity, and trust. She invites us to reclaim our place as the children of God, having a healthy attachment to our eternal Parent. Each chapter offers reflective and experiential practices that assist us in reclaiming our childlike, safe, and intimately trusting relationship with God. A must read for understanding how being a true mystic means reclaiming our childlike spirituality.

[Jenny]

DNF

I love the concept of this book, and the general idea of having faith like a child. So I'm really disappointed that this book was so difficult to read (which almost seemed to counteract the point of the book??). It felt unnecessarily wordy, repetitive, and a bit too therapy-ish for the context. Even the activities at the end of each chapter either asked me to read another whole book, or were just a bit odd. Plus, I just don't love all the weird names the author kept using for God, just felt weird.

Thank you to InterVarsity Press and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book that helped me reshape a lot about my views of spirituality and spiritual formation. Borgo does a great job of keeping things light with numerous stories, while also making it clear just how important it is to reconnect with your childhood self and how you connected with God as a child. I’m still thinking through a lot that this book brought up, but I do think this will be a book that I reread and look back to often.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does not equate faith like a child with playfulness alone. As the reader is invited to explore faith like a child there are intense sections of the book. I found the book inviting, personal, profound, earthy, and ecumenical. It's unique, maybe even offbeat, and there are many considerations and practices offered to explore the concepts further. I read this with the Renovare bookclub. I found it worthwhile and look forward to revisiting certain sections to take them more slowly.

[Kris Theuns · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s beautifully written, thoughtful, a book to savour and pray through. For me it highlighted a profound issue and I am grateful. The choice of practices after each chapter mean that one can pick the best ‘fit’. It wasn’t easy to look back on childhood but I felt safe enough to do it.

[Gregory Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for @Renovare book club. Will definitely be using this one for a sermon series. Excellent book for parents (or grandparents) of small children. Loved the resources and suggestions for further reading. (Children’s books that address matters of spiritual significance.)

[Corbin Hillam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good moments. Geared more toward a female reader.

[Liz]

Gave this a go as part of the Renovare book club but after a couple of chapters decided it wasn’t for me right now. Would prefer to use my finite reading time elsewhere.

[Nathan Detweiler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking. Loved the authors voice. Helpful.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting through this one.

[Maddie Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if we still wondered like children about who God is? How would our ministry with children change if we embraced their wonder without enforcing the reality we’ve accepted as adults?

[Neil Saltmarsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Some of the exercises could be a little lengthy with the extra suggested reading. I did some background reading but not necessarily the suggested reading. Overall it is a good read with nudges from the maternal to be more childlike as the title suggests. I have read this relatively quickly and will re-read a bit more slowly in the next month. I agree with the author that we need to have this childlike attitude as we can sometimes take ourselves a little too seriously at times and we need to have an outlook where we are shaped by wonder and surprise rather than having the answers. I look forward to the second read.

I have just completed a 2nd read and for the most part found the stories interesting enough and I can see the the author has a long history with children, both being, raising and teaching them. While holding its centre through childrens' interaction with Jesus, the components of the chapters could very well be found elsewhere. Again there are too many exercises and while the author would like us to spend a long time in the book, I don't think there is sufficient reason why you would like to do that. Having said that I thought that the final chapter 10 had very moving anecdotes which to me was challenging and lovely to read. On the whole, I can't see myself completing a third reading of the book.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. This was a great devotional read on a neglected area of our spirituality and really well written.