Topic: Faith of a Child
In Matthew 18:1-4 and Mark 10:14-16, Jesus says we are to receive the kingdom of God like a little child. He was saying this to reprimand the disciples. He was correcting their wrong thinking. The disciples 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.
We are told to be like a child. Why? Children show certain characteristics that the disciples must learn from.
- Children look up to the adults around them, especially parents. They don’t want to be left alone. They feel secure when their parents are around.
- Children openly tell you what they need. They will not hide. They are not shy to tell you they need help.
There are the two attitudes that we need to cultivate:
(1) Acknowledge God’s greatness. The disciples wanted to know who was the greatest. They wanted to be the special ones, the highly honored ones in the kingdom of heaven. They were thinking about themselves. A child does not think about his own greatness. He knows he needs his parents. In fact, left alone, the child cries and feels very insecure. He does not want to be left alone. They want adults to be around and almost all the time, not just any adults but their parents.
Why? They need someone whom they can trust, to be there for them, because they know they are not in control. They know they are not capable of doing things on their own. Someone needs to protect them, someone needs to help them. They are always looking up to someone else—one who is wiser, bigger and stronger than they are. Jesus directed the disciples to look away from themselves—from seeing how great they are, and be like a child—to see how great the Father is. He is the King in the kingdom of heaven and we are to look up to Him.
(2) Acknowledge our need. Adults are different. We don’t usually admit our weaknesses and tell our needs. We prefer to be seen as capable, self-sufficient and independent—fully capable of fending for ourselves. We like to be seen as strong. A man, full of himself, will not enter the kingdom of God because he feels no need of God. We want to be like a child. We live in constant dependence upon our heavenly Father. This perspective is important. We’ll go through life happier and greatly blessed. Never grow beyond our dependence on God. Christianity is about seeing our need for a Savior, recognizing that we cannot become acceptable to God by our own efforts and admitting that we cannot save ourselves. And therefore, humbly coming before Jesus and seeking His forgiveness.
So let us learn from a child’s example and come to God in faith. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. You will find that He can be trusted. He can be relied upon. He will do in your life everything He has promised. There is no friend more faithful and more compassionate than Jesus. Receive Him into your life like a child and you will be greatly blessed.
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem