Jesus, however, invited them: “Let the little children come to me, and don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17)
I was thinking this morning on what it meant to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child.
When a little child receives a gift, what’s their response? Indifference? Cynicism or doubt about the goodness of the gift or the giver?
No, they gladly receive the gift with joy!
Contrast that with the rich ruler. He walked away sorrowfully from the Kingdom Jesus was offering.
Why? He couldn’t believe that the Kingdom was so much better than any of his riches.
And though he had called Jesus “good”, he couldn’t trust him enough to follow and obey him.
Even Peter apparently wrestled with this. Instead of rejoicing about how good the Kingdom was, he focused more on what he had given up, seeking assurances from Jesus that it was indeed worth it.
We can’t enter the Kingdom if we’re constantly harboring doubts about how good it is, and more importantly, how good our King is.
To be clear, I’m not talking about the occasional doubts that arise in everyone. I’m talking about our fundamental heart attitude toward our King and his Kingdom.
The heart of a little child is not indifferent to the Kingdom or doubtful of its worth.
Nor is the heart of a little child cynical about its King.
Instead, it joyfully embraces both.
How about you? Do you have the heart of a little child?
How do you see your King and his Kingdom?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 