Luke 18:15-17
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'
The Lord said here: "Let the little children come to me," because the Kingdom of God should be filled with those who are like little children. It doesn't mean that we must become like little children in order to enter the Kingdom, but we need to possess once again the characteristics of little children. So what are those characteristics?
First, little children are simple, they don't keep on deliberating, they won't hide anything inside, and they will say whatever is on their mind. When we come before God, we ask God to give us a simple heart for the Lord, to be willing to offer ourselves to the Lord and obey His commands with no reservation. Many believers cannot follow God not because they don't want to, but because they don't dare to, for they are not sure what's going to happen to them afterwards. We have been train not to do anything that we are not sure about. It's certainly important to deliberate on things before acting, because it often prevents us from putting down ourselves to follow the Lord. In Matthew 6:22, the Lord said that our eyes are the lamp in our body, and if our eyes are full of light, our whole body is also full of light. The term "full of light" actually means focused and simple in the original language. If we follow God with a simple and focused heart, we won't be living in the darkness, as if God's will is not clear to us, but we will be walking in light and we'll understand God's will.
Second, little children are humble and they always want to learn something. Although they do stumble, they will again and again try to learn until they are good at it. Their hearts are humble and open, but we are easily conceited in our way of spiritual growth, thinking that we already know everything and don't need to learn anymore. We think we are self-righteous and spiritual, but these are the worst sins that Jesus rebuked people for, and also the reason Pharisees really hated Jesus. If you and I think we are better and more spiritual than others, we need to turn back to be like little children to humble ourselves, to know ourselves and to know true God.
Third, little children know how to depend on others. Sometimes we behave independently before God, feeling that we are doing very well and the Lord doesn't need to worry about is. Sometimes we are just like the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son, we are physically in the house, but our heart is distant from Father. God is hoping that we would depend on him like children. What is your situation before God today?
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