Greatness: Matthew 14-20Sample

When my husband and I first started dating, we climbed a tree in his neighbourhood. Our pastor at the time drove past and saw us. At our wedding, he spoke about that moment, saying, “I doubt they will do it again,” alluding to the innocence and fun of first love.

While we were not children, we were being childlike. In today’s passage, children are coming to Jesus, and the disciples try to stop them. Jesus rebukes them, telling them to let the children come. He says, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:15, ESV).

Like a child, or childlike – what does that mean? As I think about children, I think of innocence, not being weighed down by the worries of the world, trusting, they have joy and wonder, and they don’t complicate things.

If we were to take these attributes to how we receive the kingdom of heaven, how would it change? We are told to “not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6, ESV), “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24, ESV), “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5, ESV), and “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things” (Philippians 4:9a, ESV).

Jesus tells us to be childlike, and other passages in the Bible show us how. We need to leave behind the worries and pride of adulthood and come to Jesus in humility and dependence to receive the kingdom of God like a child.

Today, ponder this: How can you be more childlike in your faith? What can you learn from watching the way children engage with the world?