“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matt. 18:1-4 (ESV)
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus turns the concept of greatness on its head by using a child as the standard of greatness. We don’t think of children as great. Children can grow up to become great, but as children they are dependent and trusting; they have to be fed, clothed, cared for, protected, taught, guided and disciplined.
Maybe if the parent does their job well, the child could be set on a path to greatness.
But then again, what is greatness?
By human standards we measure greatness by ability, achievement, wealth, and standing in society. After all, what makes a great musician, doctor, or businessman?
Even in the Church we tend to measure greatness by accomplishments, don’t we? What makes a great ministry or minister? The size? The impact?
Yet, Jesus points to a child has the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He points to those who are dependent, vulnerable, in need of care and guidance. If we are to be great in the kingdom of heaven, we must become as one of them.
It is a process that begins with being born again (John 3:3). Becoming a child of God is a work of the Spirit (John 3:5,6); we do not apply for childhood in the Kingdom, we must be adopted – and that is the work of God (Romans 8;15; Ephesians 1:5).
Humbling ourselves as children is a work of submission and obedience. We must learn to look to our Heavenly Father for our provision, protection, guidance and sustenance. Like infants we are nursed in the early stages of our salvation (1 Peter 2:2), but we must move from milk to solid food (Hebrews 5:13-14). We must move from being fed to feeding ourselves. We must move from eating meals that are prepared for us to preparing our own meals (2 Timothy 2:15), and we must feed others (Hebrews 5:12; 1 Timothy 2:1-2). In other words, like children, we are expected to grow into maturity.
So, are we working toward greatness?
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