“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 among them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4
Each time I come across this passage in my own devotions it allows me a moment to look at myself to see if I need to measure down again to the qualities of a child. The world keeps telling us we must measure up to its standards, but Jesus calls us to use the standard of a child’s heart in order to be great in His kingdom.
He reminds us of the three great qualities children have which make them a great symbol of the Christian life. The first is humility, and we see it in the way a child does not initially wish to push himself forward, but stays in the background. He or she does not wish prominence not minding obscurity, and it is only contact with the competitive world with the offer of prizes and first places that then causes humility to be left behind.
The second quality is dependence. For children their state of dependence is natural. They don’t believe they can face life by themselves and they are content to be dependent on those who love and care for them. How much more peaceful our life would be if we accepted our need to depend on the Heavenly Father who loves us more deeply than any human can know.
And finally, there is the child’s trust. Every child wakes up trusting that their needs will be met. As little children they cannot buy their own clothes, food, or maintain a home. Yet, children don’t initially doubt that these things will be taken care of by someone greater than themselves. As one author stated, “When we are children we set out on a journey with no means of paying the faire, and with no idea of how to get to our journey’s end, and yet it never enters our heads to doubt that our parents will bring us safely there.”
May we all learn that there are times we need to bow down in order to really shed the inner burdens of the adult life. Humbly, trust the Father.
