Watch as RD unpacks Matthew 18:1-6.
The Scripture
“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4
What’s the pathway to greatness?
What’s the pathway to greatness? How can you live a life that is meaningful?
If you want to live the eternal life of tomorrow today, you have to become like a child. Recapture the simple joy, trust and wonder of children, because they are the entry points into the Kingdom of God.
Helpless
If you want to get into the Kingdom of God you have to realize that you are as useless and helpless to save yourself as a child. You can contribute nothing to your salvation.
The greatest in the kingdom of God are helpless like children. That is why Christians throughout the ages have valued those who cannot contribute. The sick and the infirmed are the greatest because they’ve had any delusions of self-sufficiency and autonomy stripped away from them. They know that the only way that they are surviving is through grace.
Humble Like a Child
Descend to greatness. Come to terms with the countercultural and liberating truth that you are not the hero of your own story. The path to greatness and meaning is the path of becoming humble like a child.
The Kingdom of God – God’s love and favour upon you, is never earned. A child doesn’t earn a Father’s love. They are loved before they’ve done anything to deserve love.
Empowering
At first blush this truth sounds self-effacing and difficult, but it is actually empowering. To become great all you have to do is to quit trying to be so tough and together and live out of a new story. You have a Father who is strong and able; He is for you, not against you. You are a well-loved child. This truth is not self-effacing – it is empowering when your Father is the God of the Universe.
A Lived-Reminder
Seeing ourselves as humble, beloved children of God changes the way we view children. Every time you see a child, every time they touch your heart, every time they frustrate you, that is in itself is a lived reminder of God’s love for you. When you look at children in the whole range of their beauty and stupidity, it reminds us that we are all the same in the eyes of God. In the unconditional love you have for your kids you will catch glimpses of God’s love for you.
The pathway to true greatness is the road of humility. In God’s eyes you are a well-loved child.
