Keep Becoming Like Little Children

(Matthew 18:1–6 DKJV) At that time, the disciples approached Jesus, saying, “Who is truly the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (2) And Jesus called to him a little child, and stood him in the middle of them, (3) and said, “Assuredly I say to you, unless you turn around completely, and keep becoming like little children, you will certainly not even enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) Therefore, whoever will humble himself like this little child, he is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5) And whoever will receive one who becomes like this little child in my name receives me. (6) But whoever will cause one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble [into ensnaring sin], would be better off to have a [donkey-]millstone hung around his neck, and be sunk into the depth of the sea.”

JESUS’S DISCIPLES WANTED TO KNOW who would be the “greatest” in the kingdom of heaven. At the time, they were probably focused on prominence, position, and the ranking of their own “hen-peck” order. However, Jesus’s answer begins with the far more important and fundamental issue—one that applies to us all: how do you even enter the kingdom of heaven? In other words, it was as if he was saying, “Before you think about your rank in heaven, first turn your attention to what it takes to gain entrance.”

In answer to this more important question, Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mat. 18:3 NKJV). The Greek word translated here as “converted” means to turn around completely, and the Greek tense of “become” implies that we need to keep becoming like little children. This is not a one-off entry requirement; this is how you enter and continue to stay in God’s kingdom.

A TRUE FATHER AND HIS IMITATING SON

In the following passage (and in many other New Testament passages) God uses the titles “Father” and “Son” for two members of the Godhead. Jesus is the Son, and he referred to his Father God as “Abba” in Greek, which translates to “daddy” in contemporary terms. Even as a mature adult, Jesus related to his heavenly dad like a little child; he depended on him for everything:

(John 5:19 ISV) Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you with certainty, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing, What the Father does, the Son does likewise.”

Like a small child that imitates its parents, Jesus only did what he saw his Father doing. By saying “only,” he implied that he depended on his Father for everything in the way a dependent child does. The nature of little children is to imitate what they see, and they primarily only have their own parents to observe. So Jesus invested his most vulnerable times—when he was most open and receptive—into focusing on, and watching his Father.

For me personally, my most open time is first thing in the morning. When I awaken, I seem automatically to be tuned in to hearing God. Whatever I hear and see at that time gets past my normal defenses and goes directly into my spirit. For example, if I go directly to God’s word—whether by reading and meditating on the Bible or by listening to anointed preaching—it goes deeply into my spirit; it feeds my inner man, and I remember it. On the other hand, if I awaken to secular, commercial TV sound, whatever information is coming from that undergoes the same process—trying to enter my inner man as spiritual nutrition. This is not a good idea because it “un-renews” my mind and feeds worldliness and fear. It is like losing gained territory back to the enemy. Extracting it after it has gained entry is both arduous and time-consuming.

In his humble state, Jesus knew he would imitate what he saw. By disciplining this time to invest it only with his Father, he ensured he imitated no one but his true spiritual dad. He then instructed his disciples—including us—to operate the same way in relation to him: “[keep] becoming like little children … whoever will humble himself like this little child {he} is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

This obviously connects with Jesus’s teaching on the new birth. In John 3, Jesus said that we need to receive a new birth to enter God’s kingdom. This equates to being “converted” and becoming as “little children” in Mat. 18:3 (NKJV). The Holy Spirit later exhorted us to then do what Jesus did—to keep imitating our heavenly Father:

(Ephesians 5:1 NLT) “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.”

The idea of continuing to become like little children, who watch only—and therefore imitate only—their heavenly dad is akin to Jesus’s later explanation that we abide [exclusively] in him:

(John 15:5 EMTV) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; because apart from Me you can do nothing.”

RECEIVE CHILD-LIKE BELIEVERS

(Matthew 18:5 DKJV) “And whoever will receive one who becomes like this little child in my name receives me.”

In the next part of his answer, Jesus said, “Whoever will receive one who becomes like this little child in my name receives me.” I believe we need humility and empathy to “receive” those who exhibit child-like trust—which includes unpretentious replication of what they see with the true spiritual dad—and humble obedience to the simple, plain, pure commands of Jesus. If we are to qualify for eternal salvation according to Jesus’s teaching, then these people—no matter how na?ve and simple they appear—are our brothers and sisters. The Holy Spirit urges us to receive them, enjoy fellowship with them, and love them in an uncomplicated way as equals, without judging them.

(Romans 12:16 NKJV) Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

In Matthew 18:5, Jesus said that if we receive those with childlike faith, we are actually receiving him—that is, if we receive them and the replication of Jesus through them, we are certainly receiving him. This is one of the ways to love him; through them, we become more acquainted with him, learn more about him, and see more of him to love and imitate. Obviously, the worldly attitudes—the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life—do not accept these people as equals. It always wants to look down on them, judge them, and/or relegate them to a “lower” position on the hen-peck order of relative standing.

Can I encourage you to see the humble child-like believers the way Jesus sees them. They are his brothers and sisters. He wants us to receive them, love them, respect them, and walk with them in humble fellowship, loving the same God and celebrating the same values.

In the last part of his answer to the original question, Jesus warned of something that can certainly keep us out of his kingdom:

(Matthew 18:6 NKJV) “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

This passage shows us several things. In earlier verses, Jesus said the entry requirement for God’s kingdom depends on: becoming like little children, and humbling yourself. Then in this verse, he substitutes both of these with the one summary phrase: “believe in me.” By rephrasing the entry requirement like this, Jesus is showing us that these are different ways to say the same thing. He thus reveals two important characteristics of faith that pleases God: it is humble, and it exhibits child-like trust.

However, disciples who practice their faith like this are open to criticism. This is because their simple, child-like faith can appear to others to be naivety. What’s more, it is an existential threat to any proud or worldly attitudes the critics still hold. Therefore, Jesus warns that failure to recognize this type of faith as the real thing, compounded with mistreating such people, will result in a horrendous outcome for the perpetrator. This is especially true if the mistreatment is to belittle what Jesus loves about them—their humble, child-like faith. If this belittling criticism extends to the point of causing them to make a step of any kind that is “not of faith,” it is sin—serious sin:

(Romans 14:23b ISV) … anything that is not done in faith is sin.

In this case, Jesus said of the person who causes others to sin, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

What again did Jesus say is the condition for receiving this outcome? “… causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin.” This implies that if you do this, your response to the child-like, obedient, na?ve trust of others is to want to change it somehow. If you succeed, you have not improved them in Jesus’s eyes; he says they already meet the qualification for entering his kingdom. After all, “everything that is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23 EMTV).

What is the take-home for us? Don’t judge or mess with another believer’s humble, obedient faith. Don’t try to improve, modify, or sophisticate a humble person who is doing what they can to imitate Jesus. We need to focus on our own salvation—what can gain us entry to heaven’s kingdom—but these actions are the quick way to be excluded:

(Philippians 2:12 CEV) … work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved.

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