Grow Up To Become A Child

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Matt. 18:1-3 

1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 

2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 

3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus tells His disciples that they must be converted and become as little children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What is meant by conversion and why do we need to be converted in the first place? The conversion Jesus talked about must take place in three areas:

1. Mindset

2. Dependence on God

3. Submission to God

Mindset

The disciples were arguing over who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. This, in a nutshell, shows that the mindset of an adult is geared towards competition, comparison, bragging rights, pride and self-promotion. You cannot have this kind of mindset and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The mindset of a child is the complete opposite of this, instead of cut-throat competition, children tend to cooperate and work together. Realize that cut-throat competition tears down, but working together builds up. What does this have to do with the Kingdom of Heaven? Simply put, the Kingdom of Heaven is not about tearing down, but it is about working together to build. The Kingdom of Heaven is not about setting up a hierarchy of the greatest to the least, nor is it a winner-take-all competition. As children of God, we do not have to compete with one another for God’s love and attention because He freely gives it to all who will accept it. So, whenever you see competition in the body of Christ that seeks to esteem one greater than another, know that it is NOT of God. There is too much work to be done in the Kingdom of God than to worry about such petty issues. God is not impressed by who has the biggest church or the largest following or the holiest apparel because He looks at the heart. So, the first thing we receive from this conversion is a mindset of cooperation and togetherness.

Dependence On God

We need to be converted so that we view God from the standpoint of a dependent child. A dependent child has an expectation of its parents for protection and provision with the additional benefit of guidance, instruction and correction. We, as people of God, should expect provision from our Father, we should expect protection to be given by our Father. As dependents, we realize that our sufficiency is not of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. As long as we depend on our own sufficiency, we become isolated and segmented from others and that causes competition. When we learn to depend on God, we will have peace within ourselves and peace with others.

Submission to God

If we look from the perspective of physiology, there are differences between the brain of a child and that of an adult. In the brain of a child, neural pathways are still being formed as learning occurs. The adult brain doesn't form new pathways so easily. You might have heard the expression “you can't teach an old dog new tricks”. Well, this applies to humans as well. It is much more difficult for an adult to learn new ways and adapt to new things. When it comes to gaining knowledge, children absorb information like a sponge while adults absorb information like a brick. When it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is better to be a “sponge head” than a “brick head.” Becoming as little children puts us in the position of continual learning and growing in knowledge. This will enable us to be humble enough to allow God to teach us and to correct us through His Holy Spirit.

The more we grow in Christ, the more like a child we have to become!