The disciples asked Jesus to name the greatest person in the Kingdom of Heaven. They expected Him to say Abraham or Moses or David or Elijah or maybe John the Baptist, but He surprised them:
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” Matthew 18:1-4.
Can’t you imagine their reply: A little child? Really? Ha ha. That’s sweet, Jesus. But seriously…. Who’s really the greatest?
But Jesus was serious. So what is He saying? What’s so great about children?
CHILDREN ARE HUMBLE.
First, Jesus mentions the humility of children. Do you remember how humble you were in childhood? You were small and kind and sensitive and tenderhearted, and you listened to adults. You had to. But that changes as we approach adulthood. Can you go back, in your heart, and cultivate the humility you had as a child? It is a key to spiritual growth and spiritual greatness.
CHILDREN HAVE AMAZING FAITH.
The second thing that Jesus says makes little children the greatest people in the Kingdom of Heaven is their childlike faith. Verses 6-7 go on to discuss the punishment coming to those who cause children to stumble. Jesus loves the innocent, childlike faith of children. They never doubt.
Do you remember that kind of faith?
I remember seeing it in both of my children. I remember it in myself. But as we get older, the cares and doubts of the world creep in. We let hurts and disappointments make us doubt.
When God does not answer a prayer the way we want, do we end up blaming God? Do you blame God for something? Are you cynical and skeptical? Do your friends influence you to have less faith than you did as a child? Why not turn that around? How about you influencing your friends to love God more and to return to their own childlike faith? Is someone around you mad at God, blaming Him for not answering a prayer perhaps? Encourage them to “forgive” God and return to their own childlike faith.
After all, Jesus said we should ALL have the faith of children. Don’t let a skeptic say, “but that’s the point—you’re not a child.” That is not Jesus’s point. His point is, we should return to the faith we had as children. It is possible, no matter how old you are.
Ask Him to help you pray as a child and BELIEVE as a child. He wants us to have that kind of innocent, doubt-free faith. If things in your past, or hurts, disappointments, or unanswered prayers, or the influences of your friends are hindering your faith, go to God and deal with those things. BEG HIM to restore to you the faith you had as a child.
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Household Words: 