Matthew 18 New International Version
The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus
and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
The Greatest of Being Small
Matthew 18:1-4
We live in a world of hierarchies. We constantly rate and rank each other on everything. Whether it is age, salary, position, education or even looks, we are always comparing ourselves to others and trying to move up the ladder of success.
In Matthew, the disciples wanted to know who was going to be the greatest in Heaven, or better to say, they wanted to know which of the disciples were going to be Jesus's number two. Jesus knew their hearts and knew the problem of taking earthly ideas into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus showed the disciples the correct way to think about entering Heaven.
Matthew 18:3-4 ESV
[3] and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus is not interested in perfect people. You don't need to be more successful than the next person. God loves the humble and we have to realize that our status and success will not get us into heaven. In fact, Jesus chose a child to show the perfect example of how we could be.
Children are totally dependent on Their parents. They do not have any finances or power to protect themselves or take care of themselves. Like children, we need to be completely dependent on God. Calling on Jesus to help us with every difficulty and give all the glory to God.
Greatest in Heaven is not about how high you can climb, but how much we are willing to humble ourselves. There are many people who do ministry but are quiet and unseen. They do not want the credit but only to do God' s work with humility. They do not need others to validate them or to move up their social status.
The world might look down on those people who work hard for God's kingdom not for their own benefit but to please God for no reward. The world will laugh at us for making ourselves lower for God's sake.
Heaven is not a place where giants made a fortress to promote themselves, but a place where the humble has sacrificed and they call out for God to rescue them. Heaven is a place for respite.
As our ego shrinks, Jesus will grow larger in our lives.
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