At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Children during the time of Jesus, even more so than today, represented a picture of absolute dependence, trust, and humility. Children brought no knowledge, wisdom, leadership expertise, or fighting ability. They had to trust those around them to care for their needs.* Without the help of others, children had no hope.
Jesus answers the disciple’s question of Kingdom ranking with an invitation to mirror His humility with a humbling of their own. Jesus informs the disciples that to even enter the Kingdom one must recognize a severe dependence on God and an inability to contribute anything or care for oneself in any way. A trust in God must be adopted. In this, the greatest is the least.
In my own life, I have had glimpses of my own insignificance. In times that I think that I’m important, I find myself painfully overlooked. In times that I think I’m in control, something happens that derails my plans. When I think that I can fix a problem, I discover that I don’t have enough. Maybe you can relate. These times of difficulties are glimpses into our true need for God, and they are a gift. Unfortunately, sometimes the only time we will see this is when we are hurting or in trouble.
When was the last time you saw a conference that advertised an opportunity to learn how to be as insignificant as possible? Do leadership conferences coach on how to lower oneself to a lowly dependence and trust in God that only children can mirror?
We must not allow the corporate-climbing, hero-admiring culture of our day blind us with talk of strategy, logistics, statistics, metrics, and money. These things can be important in many contexts, but none are as important as the call to lower oneself. We must walk in the humble understanding that we need God for everything in our lives from the breath that we breathe to the goals that we achieve.
Want to be the greatest? Follow the one who lowered Himself to be the least (Philippians 2:5-8).
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember your dependence upon Him. Perhaps God wants you to point your heart toward being less so that He can be more in your life. Maybe God wants you to stop working, fighting, and pressing to achieve those things that He wants to give you.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 456–460, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 18:1–4) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).