God's Kingdom Belongs to KidsSample

Day Three: Change in God’s Kingdom

Jesus uses a visual aid - a child - to show his disciples what greatness looks like in the eyes of God. A kid is what they saw, and here is what they heard: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Those last words got their attention because they are the same words that Jesus uses in the harshest rebuke of his most famous sermon.

Rewind to Matthew, chapter 5, when Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In the original Greek, the two warnings are exact repetitions. Of course, Jesus’ disciples would remember the words, the moment, and the looks on people’s faces when Jesus boldly challenges the hypocrisy of the religious rulers. Now, Jesus is exposing them with the exact same words. Why is Jesus echoing a warning that way? 

Jesus is adding all the force he can to a message his disciples don’t want to hear: “You’re still not childlike enough.” By this message, Jesus is showing them the way into the kingdom of heaven. “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” These aren’t warm, fuzzy words for greeting cards and quilts. These are words of powerful potential. Jesus is saying that greatness in his kingdom comes through childlike humility, not the survival-mode of seeking after power, status, and competence. Those things don’t make you great; they are just facades that keep the real you hidden. 

Surviving in the world is a very different thing than flourishing in the kingdom of God. Do you want to flourish in the kingdom of God? Here’s the way: childlike maturity. Is that statement an oxymoron? By definition, yes. 

If you are thinking childishness. But what about reclaiming in our adulthood the image of God that we see in children? What can we learn from the lives of children that actually exposes a deficit in our adult selves?

To live a mature expression of childlikeness is the change Jesus is calling us to. To hear and obey his call requires honest reflection on adult hypocrisy; experiencing the freedom of leaving facades behind is part of Jesus’ kingdom change.  

Reflection: Change is so difficult because we like the illusions we maintain about ourselves for ourselves and for others. Why are you keeping the real you hidden?

Prayer: “Lord, let me trust you with my true self. Help me see the truth about myself that will set me free.”