And become as little children

“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 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. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 18: 1-4

A few years ago our kids were spending some time with my parents at their house, when all of a sudden a thunderstorm came out of nowhere. Sensing that the kids were a bit skittish about the thunder and lightning, my mother decided to tell the kids, “Don’t worry. That’s just the angels bowling in Heaven!”

To this day, every time we hear thunder rolling in the distance, at least one of my kids will say, “That’s just the angels bowling in Heaven. Grandma said so.” It doesn’t matter that we’ve explained to them many times that it isn’t true. It’s now just stuck in their heads. (Thanks, Mom!)

But that’s honestly one of the best things about kids: They take whatever you say at face value.

It doesn’t matter how much science you throw at them, or whether the particular logic defies common sense. Very rarely will children wax philosophical and think deep thoughts about what they’re told. They just accept it as truth and carry on with their little lives.

A big reason it’s so easy for children to accept what we say unquestioningly is because they are, as Jesus referred to in Matthew 18:4, humble. They don’t have a problem admitting that they just don’t know a whole lot.

And Jesus is telling us in Matthew 18:1-4, that He expects His followers to be as little children. Let me correct that… He doesn’t just expect it, He commands it. In fact, He says that unless we humble ourselves and become as little children, we will NOT enter the kingdom of Heaven.

There are a whole lot of people out there who call themselves followers of Christ, but there are very few who actually accept what He taught at face value.

Love thine enemies? Do good to those who persecute you? Turn the other cheek? And what….give to anyone who asks of you?!?!

Just as the serpent taught Eve to question the very clear commandment of God in the Garden of Eden, the serpentine version of Christianity that is taught in most churches today explains away the very clear teachings of Christ. It is the serpentine Christianity that causes us to think our deep thoughts and question what Jesus said. “Surely Jesus didn’t really mean that we are to love our enemies and to do good to those who are persecuting us. I mean, what if someone broke into our house and threatened our family? I’m sure Jesus would want us to blow them away with a rifle. That’s just common sense! And give to all who ask of you? Surely He didn’t really mean that either. I mean, He wants us to be good stewards of our money!”

Sound familiar?

And even among those who have come out of the serpentine churches, the so-called “remnant,” you will be hard-pressed to find those with the humility of a child. Does anyone remember the SNL skits called “Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey” where the guy is staring at himself in a mirror and sharing his special, deep thoughts with his audience? These people are who I refer to as “Deep Thoughts” Christians. They will agree with you on the basics of what Jesus taught, but that’s not enough for them. They have to be special. They have to feel more spiritual than you, so they sit around thinking their deep thoughts. And then they’ll post their deep thoughts on Facebook, while claiming it was the Holy Spirit who gave it to them. (That’s a MUST, because then when someone disagrees with them, all they have to say is, “Well your argument is with the Holy Spirit, not me. If you were as spiritual as I am, you would understand. But you’re not. Sorry.”) And usually these “deep thoughts” have nothing to do with edifying the Church, but rather only puffs up the person expressing them and causes confusion, discord, and arguments amongst the rest of the Body.

Oh, to be the Church that Jesus commands us to be! Would it not be a piece of Heaven on earth, quite literally? Imagine if those who claim to follow Christ would simply humble themselves, become as little children and believe what He said.

Jesus did not come to give us deep thoughts. In fact, He came to dumb it down for us! He basically told us, “Hey, you can’t handle all these laws, so let’s just focus on these two, ok? Think you can handle that?”

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:30,31

And you know what? We can’t even grasp those two very simple commandments. Do you really think the main priority of the Holy Spirit is to unlock the deep mysteries of prophecy to you when we’ve got Christians out there who think it’s A-okay to kill their enemies? Or openly worship Caesar? Or hate on their neighbors because they belong to the “wrong” political party?

Wake UP, Remnant! He did not bring you out of the serpentine churches so you could cause confusion and broadcast your deep thoughts! He brought you out so that you would become as little children, HUMBLE yourselves, and proclaim HIS very simple Words!

“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 18: 1-4

Junia Mark

dmark2012@gmail.com