Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 • Romans 8:37-39
The Rev. Dr. Israel Ahimbisibwe
Jesus’ prayer was this: “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” (Matthew 11:25-26)
This prayer of Jesus clearly shows us what he thought were the right qualities of the people who would enter the kingdom of heaven. In matters of the kingdom of God, Jesus taught, there are two categories of people:
- The “wise and clever,” who are arrogant in their own knowledge.
- The childlike, who are humble and open-minded and always ready to receive all the truth of God’s word.
The prayer reminds us of those instances where Jesus would be speaking about the kingdom of God and gave preference to children or those who are like children.
We recall when the disciples asked Him: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them, and then He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus continued, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes Me.”
At another time, Jesus saw the disciples rebuking people who were bringing children to be blessed by Him. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
So, what is so special about children?
Children have a tendency to trust and not be pretentious. All that children need is someone with a loving look and a gentle, caring touch. The children will feel secure and will believe, because they can trust.
Of course, the Bible is clear that when it comes to loving and caring or giving a gentle touch or a gentle smile, there is no one better than Jesus in what he demonstrated to the whole world. He came that we might have life in abundance.
In order to receive the kingdom of God like children, we must believe everything that God teaches us and trust him with our whole heart and with the entire mind.
When Jesus asks us, as grown-up people, to become like children, He does not mean that we put aside and forget the experiences we have acquired over the years. Your life experiences, such as childbearing, or raising up a family as a single mother or father, or the experience you have acquired as a CEO, or any other human experiences, whether bad or good, have shaped you and molded you into who you are as a mature adult. That is not what Jesus meant.
Jesus meant that God only requires a change of attitude in life:
- God wants us to know that adult self-sufficiency must recognize the need for His sovereignty.
- God wants us to know that adult moral defensiveness must humble itself and submit itself to His holiness.
- God wants us to know that adult skeptical toughness needs to soften before Him.
- God wants us to know that children do not feel supremely powerful or perfectly righteous or completely autonomous in what they know and do, and that these things that children do not do are only adult fantasies.
- God wants us to know that accepting the kingdom as a child means accepting His goodness, confessing and committing to His tender guidance as a child.
And it is very possible to be like a child, because Jesus gave us the promise that if we throw away our own crosses and carry His, His is lighter. Simply put, it is easy to do the things that concern Jesus because if we are willing to do them, He will give us the Holy Spirit, who gives us the power to do what we cannot do on our own. One only needs to trust and follow like a child.
Even during the most difficult moments of our lives, it is important to know that Jesus is the invisible but ever-present helper who will never abandon or forsake anyone.
When Saint Paul was writing to the church in Rome, comforting them even while he himself suffered the most difficult hardships of illness, imprisonment, and persecutions, he wanted them to remember the overwhelming assurance that in all those things they were more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, because not a single experience – whether present or future – could ever separate them from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.