Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations–Matthew 18:1-4

Welcome to Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations covering Matthew 18:1-4 where Jesus instructs us on the nature of true greatness.

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.

It’s nice to know where you stand with God.  That’s what the disciples wanted to know, and even though we gather from the accounts in Mark and Luke that there was some competition going on among them, we can understand why they would have considered this an important question.  Jesus is kind enough to answer…and to turn their current understanding on its head.  He took the one least likely to have earned any kind of “greatness” standard, the one who, from a productivity standpoint would have little to offer.  Yes, Jesus took a little child and put him before grown men and said, “This is what greatness in God’s kingdom looks like; being like him is a requirement for kingdom residence.”  But Jesus, to help clarify, was not speaking of the child’s size or physical abilities but rather his humble, unassuming nature.

Small children generally just “go with it” when it comes to assuming things about their place in life and about their future.  Until they learn to do so from parents and the culture around them, they’re not much concerned about getting ahead or working their way up.  To be sure, they’re fine at sinning in other ways without any help from anybody else, but even their sins are “humble” in nature, uncomplicated and straightforward.  But along the way, we learn to be wily and to build ourselves up in our mind’s eye far above where we truly reside.  Intellectual ascension, perceived piety, and dream-world athleticism or beauty take root in our heads.  “My, my, aren’t I wonderful…even wonderfully humble!” is the whisper of our hearts while our preschooler stands by picking her nose because something feels funny up there.

All jokes aside, we should stop short at what Jesus says here.  We will not enter the kingdom of heaven, he says, unless we become like children.  We must understand that we bring nothing before God to warrant His favor and that there is no such thing as a fancy faith.  He calls for a heart abandoned to Him, a life given daily as a sacrifice for His pleasure, and an unassuming spirit that rests in His promises and not in our achievements.  That is the definition of greatness as given by the One gloriously great.

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