Guest Blog from Ryan Liebert
Matthew 18:1-3
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
When I think back to being a child, one thing I remember is how much I longed for the time when I would no longer be a child! There was an anticipation of turning 16 and being able to drive a car. There was a desire for the freedom that would come with turning 18 and legally being considered an adult. And of course, there was a distant hope of a career and the autonomy that seems to follow “growing up.” I thought, “When I’m older, I’ll have freedom, authority, and I’ll be able to do what I want!” However, when Jesus instructed His disciples on greatness, He directed their attention away from self-exaltation and toward the example of a little child. He told them, “Whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” It is this child-like humility that God is seeking to cultivate in His people and is a true mark of greatness. Here are three characteristics of this child-like humility that we should cultivate.
First, child-like humility leads to an accurate view of who we really are before God. When we’re blind to the Lord and His gospel, the result is a pride that grows into deluded self-exaltation. John calls it the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:16), where the motivation to make a name for ourselves and be esteemed by others turns our focus to personal achievement and advancement. The reality is that our self-exaltation does not achieve the righteousness of God and isn’t even a real representation of who we are! Just as Paul says, “For if anyone thinks that He is something when He is nothing, He deceives Himself” (Gal. 6:3). But when God shines the light of the gospel into our hearts, we see the greatness of God. He is the one who breathed the universe into existence, He is the one who is rightly called The Almighty. Under such revelation, we find our rightful place of child-like humility. A child has no pretension of his position in the world. While God’s power is limitless and His greatness unmatched, I am actually very small and insignificant. At the same time, I can look up to such a great God and exalt in Him. Such revelation should stir in us a child-like humility that says with David, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” (Psa. 8:4).
Second, child-like humility turns our mind toward the instruction of God’s Word. We can all think back to the stretch of our lives where we were ignorant of God and of the hope of the gospel. But at the right time, God revealed His Son and His gospel in us. After that, we finally could start to see the boundless mines of wisdom and knowledge that are available to us in Jesus Christ. While pride fools us into thinking that we know better than most or we have little to learn, God’s converting grace changes us into little children who admit they know little but are hungry to learn. Accordingly, we plant at the feet of Jesus and desire to hear any word of instruction from Him. As the Hymn goes, “Blessed Jesus, at thy word, we are gathered all to hear thee.”
And finally, child-like humility leads us to ask sincere questions about God and His gospel. Asking sincere questions has the ability to grow us up in our salvation. Asking questions sometimes makes us feel vulnerable because it reveals the limitations of our own understanding. We typically want to be the smartest person in the room (and often times think we are!). But when the reality of God and His gospel dawns on us, we are met with a Subject of study that can never be mastered. Asking questions about God and the gospel, is a lovely characteristic of child-like humility. A child freely asks questions with no consideration of what it reveals about how he compares to others. What is more, God tells us that He loves to hear our voice (Song. 2:14) and that if we lack wisdom we should ask through prayer (James 1:5). God gives us a church family where, as iron sharpens iron so two church family members can sharpen each other (Prov. 27:17). And God gives us pastors and teachers that are approachable and able to answer our questions if we would simply ask (Eph. 4:11-13).
May God help each one of us to cultivate a child-like humility that makes us great in God’s sight.