Become As Little Children

Dear Family, Friends and Partners,

"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).

I have been sharing with you on the force and the power of forgiveness.  The 18th Chapter of Matthew's Gospel amongst other things, is a powerful teaching on the divine force of forgiveness.  Once again, we see the law of sowing and reaping at work.  As we read to the end of the chapter, we can see from the teachings of Jesus, that those that do not sow forgiveness will neither reap forgiveness, but will be turned over to the tormentors.  

Through my last three blogs, I have endeavoured to point out the benefits of forgiveness and the detrimental effects that unforgiveness can have on our lives, bodies and relationships, as well as mental and spiritual well-being.  

We can see from verse 21 that Peter's eyes and understanding were starting to be opened where the power and need for forgiveness was concerned.  In verses 18-20, Jesus had just taught about the power of binding and loosing, agreement and unity.  In response to this, Peter immediately responds with a question on forgiveness.  From verses 1 and 23, Jesus gives His disciples insight into how the Kingdom of God operates.  We can see from this chapter, forgiveness is critical to operating in the Kingdom of God effectively.  In verse 3, Jesus stated that unless a person gets converted and becomes as a little child, they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  But, "whosoever humbles themselves and becomes as a little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."  

The word 'converted' here, in the Greek, means to change or a change in direction.  It means to come into being or to be born again.  It means to be as an infant.

If we think of the qualities of very young children and infants, we can get more understanding and insight into what Jesus was saying here.  Little children are sponges. They are soaking up everything they see and hear.  This is why it is so important, as believers to be careful about what we hear, what we see and what we feed ourselves.  Little children are teachable.  We need to have a teachable spirit before our God.  Little children grow fast. We need to grow up into Him.  Little children have a lot of faith, they are very trusting and believing and another outstanding quality of little children is they are very forgiving.  Little children forgive and forget and they move on to the next thing quickly.  Sometimes life as we go through it and its experiences can make us hard, cynical and untrusting.

We need to become wise as serpents, as the Word says, yet as gentle as doves.  We need to always maintain child-like qualities when it comes to God and His Word and our Christian walk.  Let's be playful and joyful at heart.  I dare you to be imaginative, believing, trusting and fully dependent upon your Father God, as little children are of their earthly parents.  I dare you to be an imitator of God and of Christ. 

Remembering:-

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12).

I dare you to become as a little child.  And grow up in Him, through His Spirit, power and Word.  Into a fully mature son and daughter of God.

Empowering you to win in life through Jesus Christ.

God bless, and have a great day!

Ps. Shaun Marler

World Harvest Ministries

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