Becoming Like A Child

Mat 18:3-6 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Having a childlike faith. Oh to be like one of the little ones. This morning I was at a customer's home and I was doing some work there for her. Running around the house were two small children. A rambunctious little boy who just turned two and a precious little girl who is four. The rough and tumble little fella was running around in a pair of shorts and sported a bottle with him everywhere he went. The princess was adorned in a beautiful fairy dress and had a smile that was as precious as the morning sun. I couldn't help but watch these two little ones as I went about my duties there. They were genuinely innocent, incredibly inquisitive, and willing to help me in every way. They were asking me questions and very hungry for knowledge.

Why do you do it that way and how come you have to go over there? Each time they asked me a question I answered with care and compassion. No question to me was meaningless and they were full of many of them. Every time I answered their little question, as trivial as it may have been, they responded with the next question with just a little bit more confidence. By the time I completed my work they knew so much more than when I got there.

Throughout the morning their mother was trying her hardest to keep these two little ones from "bothering" me. "Stop asking the nice man all of these questions" she would say to them. All the while I would inform her that everything was fine and I was not the least bit bothered by their inquisitive minds. Finally, she scolded one of them and then turned on the TV in hopes of distracting them from keeping me from my work.

Jesus tells us in Matthew that we need to be converted and become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. To me this means to have an innocence about us that allows us to come to the father and seek Him with the faith of a child. Children are oblivious to the things of adults. In the eyes of a child all things are relevant and equal and what I had to accomplish there this morning was for the purpose of benefiting their little lives. Being childlike means we put all preconceptions aside and cry out to God for guidance, assurance, information, and ultimately freedom in Him.

The thing this morning that was bothersome to me was the mother trying her hardest to prevent the little ones from coming to me with their questions. It made me think that, in the spiritual realm in which we live, Satan has a great way of keeping us from our heavenly Father as well. Woe to you who cause one of these little ones to stumble.

As God's children we are to rely on Him as a child needs his father. Removing our pride and placing ourselves far below the magnificence of the Father, gleaning all we can from Him for our life. We can not sustain ourselves and Jesus reminds the disciples of this very fact as they are trying to figure out who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. I truly desire to be like a small child in my walk with the Lord. Always seeking Him for my sustenance and never being too grown up to think I know all of the answers.

Thank you Lord for reminding me that I need be converted and be like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. Help me to never cause one of your children to stumble and please guide me today in the way you would have me to go.