The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.When I think of these verses I am so very humbled. I know these verses well, yet I'm sure that I don't completely grasp all that Jesus was saying here.
Going a bit deeper with Henry M. Morris:
Like Little Children- "One does not receive salvation by bargaining or arguing, although the prior clearing of obstacles to faith is helpful and often necessary. ...we are saved through faith-unconditional faith-like the unquestioning trust of a little child."
Unquestioning... I love that. But it also comes with the security of the one they are trusting. If a person has given a child no reason to not trust them and they know them, then a child will trust blindly. So, by knowing God and what He's done and sacrificed (through His Son), we should believe without hesitation.
The world tells us otherwise though doesn't it? It tells us to be independent, do-it-yourselfers, and take pride in your work. Those things are all conflicting with what Jesus teaches. So how do we fight against the world yet be in it? How are we "ordinary radicals" in our faith?
I'm not so certain that "taking pride in one's work" conflicts with Jesus' teachings. We should take great pride in any and all work no matter how big or small that it honors and glorifies God - even in the most trivial of chores - like sweeping the garage - that we do it with all our might with excellence to reflect the excellence of the Lord. And at the end of the day, giving all glory to the Creator, we can take pride in our day and all our work that is done for Him, in Him, and in excellence because of Him. And the Lord will smile upon this, as a mother or father smiles and takes pride in the work and play of their children. But does a mother and father not want their child to take pride in their work? Does not our heavenly Father feel the same for us as His children? I look no further than how I feel about my own child, the joy I receive from her work and her play, and how I want her to feel about herself and her relationship to God, to know how God feels about me.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I worded that wrong. Not that taking pride in our work is terrible, but I was trying to say more of a being prideful sort of thing. Taking all the glory for ourselves-that sort of thing.
ReplyDelete