Humble Like Children

*An unfinished version of this post was accidentally published and emailed to followers in the middle of the night. This is the finished version. I hope you enjoy.*

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So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 18:4 NLT 

As a mom who’s raised three babies to adulthood, I’m not sure “humble” would have been the first word that jumped to mind when describing children. In fact, as any parent in the middle of raising multiple munchkins can probably attest, children can be challenging, to say the least. 

They are, at times, loud and messy terrorists of peace. 

First thing in the morning, long before coffee has had a chance to settle in and do its work, parents find that we are not able to wear blue today because blue feels “pokey.” (Parent: “Hmmm, I’ve never experienced that.”) The only color that doesn’t feel pokey is green, but unfortunately all the green is in the washing machine. As a result, the world has come to an end. 

Later in the day, we discover that the red cup is now completely unacceptable, so we can only use the blue cup. Well, unless Brother already has the red cup, then we must have the red cup immediately!!  Otherwise, we will terrorize the entire house with our endless screams. 

Fun times. 

Finally, just as the family is clean and moisturized and all in their pajamas, ready for the last hugs and kisses of the night, the unthinkable happens…

These two plushy “doggies” are exactly the same. Same material, same colors, exactly the same, because Mom and Dad have heard all the sage advice and wisely prepared an emergency backup for such a time as this… 

However… and here is the dreaded loophole no one could have anticipated… tonight we only want the one doggie with the tiniest tear in the tag because, honestly, it’s more “lovey” than the other one. 

That’s right, it’s more lovey.

But horror of horrors, the torn-tag plushy cannot be found and it’s now suspected that we most likely left it at the park during this afternoon’s playdate. According to the rules and laws of childhood perspective, this renders the backup plushy wholly obsolete, never to be loved ever again, and now our entire existence has been utterly devastated. 

Right at bedtime. 

It’s a good thing we love them as much as we do. 

Trusting, Humble, and Forgiving

[Jesus] called a little child to him, and placed the child among [his disciples]. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18 2-3

We can rest assured that it wasn’t the childish side of children the Lord was referring to when He said for us to be like them. Although we all know of at least one adult, maybe even ourselves included, who could use a timeout in the corner now and then, we are still charged by the Lord to become mature and steady, wise and discerning followers of Christ [Ephesians 4:14-15 NIV].

Maybe He was speaking of their childlike wonder and unconditional trust. Or maybe He was focused on their complete dependence on others and willingness to forgive. 

• They focus on the positive
• They live in the moment
• They don’t fear the future or regret the past
• They bounce back from failures quickly
• They say what they mean and mean what they say
• They laugh and cry easily, and do not hide their true feelings
• They are open and honest about their needs and wants…

They are quick to ask for help. They are quick to say I’m sorry. They are not weighed down by condemnation, guilt, and shame. They haven’t learned how to live inside the cages and shackles of life… inside the walls that keep us all apart. Children are free from all of that. 

And that’s how Christ wants us to be. He died for us to have that kind of freedom [John 10:10, Galatians 5:1]. 

Where Do We Run?

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:14 ESV

God thinks of us more closely to the ways we think of our own children than we probably realize. He understands our weakness and imperfections. We please Him and He delights in us, He sings over us [Zephaniah 3:17]. We make mistakes, fall down and get hurt, and cry our hearts completely out, but He can handle it. We are not too much for Him.

He will not hinder us. He desires that we come boldly before Him to obtain His grace [Hebrews 4:16].

Everything in this world is all about being self-sufficient. It tells us that everything depends on “me” and it just doesn’t, not when I belong to Christ. The footnote in the Amplified version of Matthew 18:4… where it says, “becomes as humble as this little child”… says “turns his back on self-righteous pride and adopts a realistic self-view.“

A realistic self-view is going to look a lot different to the world than it does to a Jesus follower. Once we settle ourselves outside of self-righteous pride that says, “I can do it all by myself,” our entire identity in Christ is wrapped up in Galatians 2:20… “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.“

It is in this verse that we find our true freedom because now it’s not about us, it’s about Him. We don’t have to run to ourselves for help, we can run to God. We don’t have to make it all up as we go along, and try to guess at the right ways to go in life. We can sit down at the feet of Jesus, soak up His presence and tender care, and ask Him what to do… because He’s already been there and He knows the way.

So where do we run? When our lives are steeped in sin and we just can’t find the way out, do we run to Daddy like a little child and ask Him for His help? When the enemy is constantly knocking at our door reminding us of our failures with condemnation, guilt, and shame weighing heavy on our hearts, do we run to the Father and hide ourselves in the strong tower of His Word [Proverbs 18:10]?

Or when we have been blessed beyond measure by the joys in our lives, do we take more than just a moment to share that joy with Jesus and thank Him for all He has done for us? That’s what He wants from us [Luke 17:15-19]. He wants to be involved in all of it… to hold us, to help us, and to celebrate with us… because we are His children.

There’s a reason we keep repeating the process of having babies even after experiencing the Terrible Twos, Threenagers, and Ferocious Fours. It’s because we love them. We are bound to them as a mother to her nursing baby… and that never goes away. We have unconditional grace for all their terrible tantrums, troublesome teenage decisions, and their unavoidable adult missteps. Do we think the Father’s love would be any different? Anything less than what we would give to our own children?

No, it’s infinitely more than we could ever ask or think [Ephesians 3:14-21].

To be humble like a little child is to jump into Daddy’s arms with joy expecting all His love and care in return. Will you do that with me today?

I pray that we will run to God in every circumstance, both in difficult times and in times of joy. I pray we will see Him as a loving Father, even when our own father may have missed the mark. I pray we begin to sit with Him and abide in His love more than we ever did before. We need it more than we know.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John 1:10-14 NLT