Have you spent any time with two-year-olds? Two-year-olds can be such fun. They run around, play games, and talk nonstop. They spin in circles until they are dizzy. They talk to their stuffed animals, and they tell themselves stories – usually stories that don’t make sense to anyone but themselves.

In the Bible, Jesus tells His followers that anyone who does not have faith like a child cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. He’s telling us to have faith, believe, and put away our grown-up doubt. But in 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible 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.” What do we do with this? Is the Bible contradicting itself?

Let me put it this way: Paul in this letter to the Corinthians is talking about love. What do two-year-olds know about love, real godly love? Sure, they know a little bit – they know about hugs and kisses, and they miss their parents when they are gone. But children are still learning about sacrifice, sharing, and compromise. Their worlds are still focused on themselves. This is why Paul tells us to give up our childish ways to learn to love God’s way. When we grow up in God’s love, we can put others before ourselves and show them the true love of Christ Jesus, centered on sacrifice and truth.                      This is Luis Palau.