Matt. 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I think when Jesus was saying this He was thinking about a very small child; maybe a 2 year old. Here is my reason for the thought.
On Saturday the fire department that responded to Grant's cardiac event had their annual pancake breakfast and so I went to thank them for their work on our behalf and to talk to others there about our story; trying to take advantage of a possible evangelism opportunity. Grant would have gone but he was in Scotland and Teresa said she thought she would have been too emotional, which is probably true.
As I was visiting with people there were a couple of conversations that were really encouraging. One I only overheard and it just reminded me of this passage.
A grandmother was telling her daughter about how her grand daughter, so 3 generations represented here, had been changing. Grandma and grand child used to hang out all the time and just have a lot of fun being together, but something happened. That something was the little 8 year old's seeming independence of everyone. Grandma said, "We used to have such fun together. We did everything together, but now she is so independent, she doesn't want to have me do anything for her. She is so independent."
I immediately thought about this passage and how each one of us is like this little girl. We get just mature enough to start doing things on our own, and we think we are no longer dependent. Is this little girl really independent of anyone? Can she actually do without grandma for even more than an hour, if she is under her care? How will she eat, of get from place to place? What happens is she has a medical issue? She will soon find out how dependent she really is.
I do the same thing. As soon as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I start to be less sensitive of my dependence; which is ridiculous. How can I be independent of God's care and rule over my life, when I am no more independent than this little girl? Only sin makes me think this way.
It is not a man glorifying position to be so dependent on the Father, but it is what is true and it is the best place for us to be. May I be there more and more each day; living in light of my true dependence on Him. May I trust the Father's care implicitly for my every need and desire and may I rest fully knowing He has only my good on His heart. May I be as the smallest of children and just trust Him.
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