GREATNESS REDEFINED
Matthew 18:1-4
1 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” 2 Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them 3 and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. WEB
Could you imagine how the disciples would have responded when Jesus answered their question?
I believe that their understanding of greatness would have been completely turned on its head! The rich weren’t the greatest. The strong weren’t the greatest. The religious elite weren’t the greatest. It was a child! And not just a child, but a LITTLE child! For us to truly grasp why little kids are considered the greatest from Abba’s vantage point, we need to understand that the Kingdom of God is diametrically opposed to the broken, orphan hearted world system that we live in. (1) What God esteems as valuable, the world dismisses as insignificant. What our Father considers the greatest, society deems the least. If we don’t get this fundamental perspective of the Kingdom of God, we cannot go any further in our ability to grasp Kingdom realities. |
The sad reality is, if we try to apply the world principles to God’s Kingdom, we will end up with a power hungry, works based, competitive culture that totally misses what our Abba values. And it will not in any way reflect the true non-negotiables in our Father’s heart.
I believe one of the most beautiful attributes of a little child’s heart that makes them great in God’s eyes is their humility. They are who they are and they make no apology for that. They also don’t have a giant sized adult ego to get in the way that prevents them from receiving the Kingdom wholeheartedly. (2) They know they are small and are fully aware they need help with everything!
If we will just acknowledge that we are no different than these little ones, it will make the world of difference in our lives. No longer will we have to try and provide for ourselves, protect ourselves and attempt to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. We can just trust our Heavenly Father to do all the heavy lifting for us!
All we have to do is simply acknowledge our need for help and become like a child again!
I believe one of the most beautiful attributes of a little child’s heart that makes them great in God’s eyes is their humility. They are who they are and they make no apology for that. They also don’t have a giant sized adult ego to get in the way that prevents them from receiving the Kingdom wholeheartedly. (2) They know they are small and are fully aware they need help with everything!
If we will just acknowledge that we are no different than these little ones, it will make the world of difference in our lives. No longer will we have to try and provide for ourselves, protect ourselves and attempt to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. We can just trust our Heavenly Father to do all the heavy lifting for us!
All we have to do is simply acknowledge our need for help and become like a child again!
(1) 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; (2) Luke 18:15-17.