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Become like a little Child
“People were bringing little children (παιδι?) to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children (παιδι?) come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’.” (Mark 10:13-14)
Here, we find people bringing their small children to Jesus in order for Jesus to bless them (as with the Pope last week). But the Lord’s followers told the people to stop bringing their children to Him. When Jesus saw what had happened He was angry with His disciples and He said to them, "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people that are just like these little children.”
In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children (παιδι?), you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” What did Jesus mean when He told us to become “just like little children”? Notice it says little children (παιδι?) – not a babe in arms, but not a teenager either – a small child, an infant maybe aged 5 to 8. Not an infant as in these days who has already been going to school for a few years! An infant who hasn’t begun any serious schooling, who spends much of the day just playing. Note also, becoming like a little child does not mean you revert to childhood or become childish. I like the T-shirt slogan, which says: “Keep the faith baby, not the baby faith”
So what “characteristics” of a little child give us the clearest picture of a ‘believer in the Kingdom of heaven’? I have found ten…
(1) Innocence
The apostle Paul says in Romans 1 that most people keep on inventing new ways of sinning. Children are not like that they are not sin conscious. They do not scheme the way adults do!
(2) Simplicity
We make life so complicated – it need not be so! A child’s world is simple, straightforward and unsophisticated. So keep it simple!
(3) Frankness
In a car a four-year-old granddaughter asked her Granny why she was wearing the brightly coloured scarf she had on. “I thought it would make my blue suit look much prettier,” Granny said. To which the granddaughter replied, “It didn’t work, did it?” Be frank, not rude!
(4) The power to ponder
It’s wonderful to watch children as they ponder the beauties of the world – new animals, sunsets and night skies. We miss out on these wonders because we don’t take the time to discover new things.
(5) The power to forgive and forget
Grown-ups keep grudges – children don’t. They can be fighting one minute and be best friends the next. Adults tend to carry around unforgiveness like it’s something to be treasured.
(6) Obedience
A child is expected to be obedient. Parents expect their child to obey immediately, without fussing or complaining. Most adults have a lot to learn from little children concerning how to obey God!
(7) Enjoyment
Children enjoy the simplest things in life. Adults need to get their enjoyment from expensive gadgets or complicated things.
(8) Enthusiasm
Whatever they do, children do it with all their heart! Adults loose their enthusiasm too easily!
(9) Trust
Children trust their parents to meet all their needs. Children cannot provide their own food, clothing and shelter. So they rely on their parents for those things. Children haven’t lost their ability to trust. Do you remember as a child allowing your dad to grab your arms and swing you around knowing he wouldn’t let go. Never once did you think, “I wonder what would happen if dad let me fall, or if he let go when he was spinning me and I went flying into a wall?” Do we trust our Heavenly Father as much as children trust their earthly father, or for that matter as much as children trust our Heavenly Father.
Matthew 6:25-34, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… For your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
You know the story of the man who fell over a cliff and just happened to catch hold of a branch that was growing out from the face of the cliff. Holding on as tight as he could he hollered; “Hello is anyone up there?” After a few moments a voice came from above saying “This is God, do you trust me?” and the man said “Thank you God of course I trust you.” And the voice came back “Do you really trust me” “Oh yes God you know that I really trust you.” The voice answered again and said “Let go of the branch.” There was a pause and then the man yelled, “Is there anyone else up there?”
(10) Humility
There is one more vital aspect of childhood, which Jesus is pointing to when He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Whoever humbles himself – humility, and humility has two aspects, humility and greatness!
Verse 18, At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Jesus uses the child as a visual aid to true greatness. The disciples had the wrong idea. They thought that power and authority would be the things that mattered most in God’s kingdom. They wanted a special status. They felt that they were better than others. However, children are entirely the opposite. A little child knows his place!
A child does not think that he is the most important one in the family, even if he tries to act as though he is. A child knows he has to grow up! A child does not wish to promote himself. He does not wish for superiority. There is an old saying: ‘Second place is okay if you don’t mind being first in a long line of losers.’ Nobody wants to be in second place. We all want to occupy that first place. We all want to be the winner, no matter what it is we are competing in. However, that is not the attitude of the little child! It is only as the child grows up and gets involved in a competitive world that his instinctive humility is left behind. The follower of Christ must learn to humble himself before the Lord so that God can lift him up (James 4:10).
The disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Mark’s gospel indicates that they had been arguing about it, and Luke’s account shows the same. In fact, while they are discussing the matter with Jesus, Luke points out that the disciples were so worried about themselves and their own recognition that some time earlier they found a man who was casting out demons, and they made him stop because he wasn’t one of their group. A child would have just joined in!
In Matthew 18, the disciples are fussing over who was the most important one of them. In chapter 19 they are still at it, and in chapter 20 James and John (and their mother) are working on Jesus to try to get them the most prominent seats by the throne. They all began to argue about it. “Jesus can’t possibly give those seats to James and John! That’s where we ought to be seated!” The change that Jesus was looking for in his disciples was humility. If they really wanted to be great in His eyes, in His kingdom, then they were going to have to humble themselves.
It wasn’t about who was the smartest, or who was the strongest, or who was the best orator and so forth. In Jesus’ mind, it was about who was most willing to serve.There is another side to the humility of a child, that is, dependence. The disciples looked at themselves and they wanted to feel great. When a child looks at himself, he knows he needs help. Dependence is very natural to a child; he never thinks that he can face life all by himself. He is perfectly content to depend on those who love him and care for him. If only adults would turn to God and place their dependence entirely on Him, they will find a world of peace and strength – a world of joy they have never experienced.
A child is totally dependent upon his parents. This is humility, the humble acknowledgement of God’s role in your life and in your world today; that you are not ultimately in control, acknowledging that you need Him. Humility is not telling yourself you’re a nobody. Humility is saying that you are in need of God all the time. He is the Lord of your life, and therefore, you have made up your mind that you are going to worship Him and glorify Him at all times.
Innocence, simplicity, frankness, power to ponder, power to forgive, obedience, enjoyment, enthusiasm, trust and humility. These are all qualities God is looking for in His children. Become as a “little child” and you will be considered great in His mighty kingdom!
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Chris Demetriou, 26/09/2010 |
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