Every time I rock one of my sons to sleep, I sing three songs: Jesus Loves Me, God is So Good, and Jesus Loves the Little Children. Because God is love (1 John 4:8), we know God loves all people; the Bible plainly teaches this (cf. John 3:16).
More specifically, we see Jesus interacting with children during His ministry. He heals Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18–26). He resurrects the widow’s son (Luke 7:11–17). He rebukes the disciples for preventing children from coming to Him (Make 10:13–16). He says in Matthew 18:3, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
A brief perusal of articles on the Internet offers several possible meanings of Jesus’ statement. While exhibiting many childlike characteristics might make us better people, Matthew 18:4 tells us that Jesus had one particular attribute in mind: “Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Simply put, children know they are children. Our three-year-old, Amos, possesses a great deal of self-confidence. Yet, his behavior betrays the basic understanding that he needs our help because we are adults and he is a child. We need this very mindset to enter the kingdom of God.
As long as we believe in our sufficiency, we will not acknowledge our need for God. Psalm 10:4 says, “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him [God]; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’” Yet the psalmist does not literally mean that the wicked did not believe God exists. Rather, as Psalm 10:11, 13 express, the psalmist knows the wicked doubt that God will punish them or call them to account for their sins.
Becoming like little children means humbling ourselves to the point that we acknowledge God as God. We not only believe He exists, but we also believe that we need Him for our own existence.
Truly, Jesus loves the little children! In God’s sight, we are children. He is our Maker, and through Jesus, He is our Father. When we possess childlike humility, we can lean on Him with a calm and quiet soul, knowing that He provides for our needs (cf. Psalm 131:2).
Clay Leonard
