Like A Child

Matthew 18:3 "Then he said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.'"

 

My two year old son, Cody, is so precious and I always have a great time being entertained by all that he does.  So young and so innocent. He doesn't have a care in the world as he trusts and believes that his parents will supply his needs.  To him everything has a mommy and a daddy and there is no wrong in the world. But he knows the difference between good and evil and will point it out.  When he sees something that represents evil he'll exclaim, "Monster!" and he'll run to us for safety.  Once he's in his place of refuge he'll say, "No monsters because we have Jesus!" Already at the age of 2 my son knows that in Christ we have nothing to fear.

 

We taught him early on as he was learning how to speak that he can do all things through Christ. When he would say he couldn't do something we'd respond with Philippians 4:13, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Even as his parents when we tell him we can't he starts to quote the scripture to us and reminds us that WE CAN do all things. It is this type of faith and dependability that Jesus says we need to have in order to get into Heaven.

 

One part of the scripture we tend to overlook in quoting this verse is that two things are required in order to get into the Kingdom.  First is we need to turn from our sins.  This often gets overlooked as we quickly jump to the second requirement of becoming like little children. It is very important that we turn from our sins in order to become like a little child.  The reason why is because sin represents rebellion and independence. Sin is selfishness and there is no dependability in it. Without turning from our sins we will never be able to become like little children because we are too busy trying to be in a state of control. Even the very fact of turning from our sin is like a child realizing what is wrong or evil and running from it to go tell daddy. 

 

To become like little children does not mean to act like childish.  Even still some children seem to act more mature than adults in the way that they know things are wrong and will not do certain things, yet some grown adults continue running to the things they know are wrong for their lives. Those that are in Christ have become adopted by the Father and became his children (Ephesians 2), therefore in saying to become like little children Jesus is saying become like you are a Child of the Father and act like a Pure, Innocent, Loving Child would. 

 

Everyone wants to be apart of the Kingdom of Heaven, but we do not want to turn from our sins or become like little children.  We all want riches and the glorious things of Heaven, but do not want to pay the price of surrendering our lives. When we choose to have a faith like a child then the Father can show us how awesome and powerful He really is.  The Father loves to be the super hero to his children that run to him from the fears of this world and into His arms for refuge.

 

Embrace the Kingdom of Heaven. Become LIKE A CHILD!