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Our passage from Luke 18 today picks up where yesterday's passage leaves off by continuing a discussion on the theme of humility and having a humble heart before God. Let's read it.
"Now they were bringing even infants to him so that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.'" (Luke 18:15-17)
What does it mean to receive the Kingdom of God like a child? There are many thoughts as to what this could exactly mean. I would like to offer a few thoughts about childlike faith.
In Jesus' day, children were not highly valued in society. As parents were bringing their children to Jesus, the disciples seem to have had this attitude themselves toward these children, and they cast judgment on them by rebuking the parents for bringing their children to Jesus. They were essentially saying that some people are worthy of Jesus' time and others are not. Children were in the category of "not worthy". In their opinion, children were not a good use of Jesus' time. Jesus loves children and calls His followers to do the same. He allows us to see His heart for children by speaking against the culture and showing how valuable children are to Him. But Jesus also uses this moment to teach the disciples a lesson about their own hearts and about faith. Similarly to yesterday's passage, the posture of the heart that delights God is a posture of humility. Children represent this posture well. They don't bring much to the table in terms of accomplishments or prestige, yet they fully trust their parents. They are dependent and incredibly trusting. This is the posture we ought to take when we respond to the Lord in faith. Like children, Jesus is calling His disciples to follow Him with complete dependence and trust, recognizing that they don't have to bring anything special to the table, just themselves. And wow! As we read on and look back in the Bible, we see some amazing things that the Lord does with people who fully depend on the Lord.
Story time! There is a young teenage girl who has been coming to our youth home group recently. She is not a believer, but she is seeking. She has many questions but is very genuine in her asking. One week, we split girls and boys for a time of sharing prayer requests and praying for each other after Bible study. I invited all the girls to pray out loud if they wanted to, and this girl looked at me with panic in her eyes. I assured her that I would never force her to pray, just that she could. She said she wouldn't even know what to do if she tried! I told her that praying is just talking to God. In prayer, we thank God for things, we praise God for things, we confess things to God, and we ask God for things. I encouraged her that there are no special words she needs to use; just talk to God. But if I'm honest, I didn't expect her to pray once we began. Another girl who is a believer began to pray, and I said that anyone who wanted to pray could, and then I would close our time of prayer. Much to my surprise, this girl who is not a believer prayed! It was such a sweet thing to witness her praying to the Lord for the first time. It was so genuine. No fancy churchy words. No special "prayer voice" (many of you know what I mean). Just a childlike, genuine prayer, speaking to God like she was speaking to a friend, with a lot of humility in her voice and posture. And she's not even a follower of Jesus yet! It reminded me of this passage, and it blessed my heart. I continue to pray that she would not only pray in this genuine way, but that she would follow Jesus genuinely with her whole heart.
Nevertheless, the Lord used her that night to remind me to always come to Him just as I am, with nobody to impress, and to genuinely seek Him with the heart of a child.
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