Very rarely do I hear the phrase 'Rank in the Kingdom' mentioned among popular Christian news circles. I was reading Matt 18 earlier and felt like sharing some thoughts that are relevant to any and all Christians.
'18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.' Matt 18:1-6
'Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven'
What do all children have in common?
| 1. They cannot lie
We've all seen a niece, nephew, child, brother or sister who is let's say for arguments sake <10yrs of age. As far as I'm aware they simply cannot lie. Many times their honesty can be a source of laughter given the fact they simply are not aware of and do not care for being 'socially acceptable' or 'politically correct'. Often times they can embarrass older family members by divulging certain truths in the presence of people we would like to keep certain things hidden from.
| 2. They have tremendous faith
We all remember the stage we went through when we would believe anything someone older than us told us. I remember when me and my younger brother used to go on holiday to Mallorca, Spain with another family, we would be playing in the sea whilst the adults would be burning themselves in the aim of getting a nice red 'tan'. There was one child who always delighted in doing anything but what he was told, one year he decided to let a bucket and spade my family had bought (which at the time was in the company of my impressionable 8yr old brother) drift out to sea. Suffice to say they were never seen again. It was only a few years later we found out that my brother had been assured they were on their way to the UK and he would get them when he arrived home. As you can guess from the map below, they still haven't been seen to this day:
The point I'm making: little children will believe anything if it comes from someone older than them (The mischevious child was 12/13 at the time) that they deem wiser than themselves, this is especially important to remember for the times when they may have asked their 50th question of the day and we know we can end it by telling them a lie, please don't. These lies can stay with them for years and although it may not be life-ending it will be life-stifling, the more lies they're told all in the name of 'convenience'.
| 3. They do not judge others
We've all seen the way children who may have only known each-other for 10minutes will start to play together and share toys with eachother. They may be shy at first and cling to their mother but with a little nudge they'll happily play with other children regardless of race/social class/nationality etc. We adults on the other hand, before people even speak already have prejudicial ideas toward them. Pro 18:13 'He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him'
What does this whittle down to?
Christ didn't say to be like children because he wanted us to be naive toward the Word and believe anything anyone we deem more mature than ourselves tells us. No, He used such a comparison because children are undefiled by the world and up to a certain age (God will decide what this age is for each person), they are free from sin. Christ wants us to have a firm faith based on the available evidence, and yet He wants us to embrace the parts of the Word which our human minds cannot comprehend with the above traits demonstrated in children, as well as behaving in such a manner to our fellow human beings.
I will be doing another post to continue on the references Christ makes to children in Matt 18 (I'm aware I have only really looked at verses 1-4). To conclude: we will not all be equal in rank in the Kingdom of Heaven, yes all believers will receive eternal life, however we will not all be of equal rank. (Think about it, how could the tens of millions of Christians 'Rule All Nations with a Rod of Iron', positions of rank will ultimately be decided by our savior, Jesus Christ, humbling oneself like a child is the best place to start.
To conclude this post, the above traits can be easily adhered to if we would only remind ourselves of the two most important commandments:
Most Important - 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.'
Second Most - 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'
Matt 22:36-40
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