Each of us have a personal experience in todays discussion, in more than one way. Each us started out years ago as a child.
What are some of the characteristics that distinguish a child from a kid and also from adults?
As we look at Matthew chapter 18 today, Jesus focus is on relationships, can you describe the concept of relationships as it relates to children?
Relationships are vital to humanity. They the central point to everything. Even to the point that God came down to have a relationship with his creation. The whole bible is about restoring what was lost in the garden, the pure relationship with God. In Matthew 18 Jesus gets to a point where he needs to confront the disciples. They concerned about people outside their group using Jesus name to heal people and do their job. Jesus knows that they are struggling and spending time about situations they have witnessed, and there needs to be some interjection.
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. – Matthew 18:1-6 NLT
What message are you getting from Jesus response to their behavior?
Any human society is concerned to establish a proper ‘pecking order’, and the gospels record several disputes among the disciples on this subject. Over against all conventional ideas of status and importance Jesus offered the model of the little child . The point was not any supposedly childish qualities of innocence or unselfishness but the status of the child at the bottom of the pecking order, subject to grown-up authority, dependent and powerless. To accept this lowest rank (humble himself) is to be great, and to treat the least prominent as the most important is to echo the attitude of Jesus. Such an attitude is not natural; it involves a radical change (literal ‘turn round’, conversion).
When we were just little children we were exposed and in our own way we responded to the pecking order. Watching my grandson change roles from the only son, to the big brother has been a big eye-opener.
What are some of the challenges and changes that a child goes through in life transitioning from being the “only one”?
Subject to Authority
Babies are the prime example of being subjective to authority. It does not mean that they do well at it, but they really have no choice. Most to the challenges of raising a child are in the battles of authority. Even to the point where the answer ends up being “because I said so”.
Authority is so much more than parents and children, but of rules, guidelines and laws. Each of us are exposed to the influence of others. Even as we meet in a public venue for this session we are subject to the business and their expectations of us to be subjective to their business rules. The sign on the door of wearing masks, the rules of society that we don’t just walk in and go to the front of the line. We don’t even go more drastic and go behind the counter and grab what we want. We understand that there are defined rules and expectations. How about the simplest concept of what you order you need to pay for it? Children are not born with that concept.
On the bigger scale of being an adult we have two obvious engagements with authority, the simplest is a boss at a job and the second is to the laws of our country.
What is your experience, challenges with authority? Do you think be subjective to authority is easy? (some do handle it better than others). If you handle it well, how do you know?
We all have experiences of being under authority, what about when you have authority, what are your experiences as it relates to relationships?
Dependent
Another child characteristic that Jesus was talking about was the status quo of being dependent. Some of the first things that come to mind might be the verses that say don’t worry about tomorrow and how God will take care of us, which are true. Being dependent can some times put us in a negative perspective of who we are. Typically it focus on what we don’t have, and we miss one of the beautiful characteristics of a child, being content to be taken care of. Especially as men, we are supposed to be providers and we just shove aside the whole “dependent” characteristic that Jesus tells us to obtain.
Think of a child going on vacation with his parents. There is excitement, there is thoughts of adventure. The child typically does not think about gas prices, the cost of the hotel room, or where are we going to eat or who is going to pay for everything. It is because the child has become aware of being dependent and it is not thought of as a bad thing or something to be avoided.
Each us have had variety of experiences, even if it was a desire to have “healthy dependency”. There is that desire for someone to love us and take care of us.
What are some of your challenges and insights on “healthy dependency” as described above? Do you have memories when being dependent was a blessing, maybe like a vacation or sporting event?
Powerless
The third characteristic of the child that builds from the others is a sense of powerlessness. Children don’t have a choice in authority or dependance, but they sure test the idea of not having power to change things.
The range of examples is endless for children, from their dependance of clean diapers and the powerless situation of not being able to change their own diaper. Power is first exerted when the baby learns to scream and cry. The power struggle then is invoked for the rest of their life.
In Humility
As we acknowledge these characteristics of a child, let us remember that Jesus was not telling them to be “childish” but to learn how to humble themselves.
What is your thoughts and reactions to the concept of humbling yourself?
Strangely, our experiences tend to be around the three areas we just discussed. Humility is very difficult, it is not natural, and it does involve a radical change from being self-centered.
When you reflect on someone that you think resembles humility, how is or was their life in relationship to these childish characteristics?
Today and this week, think about situations of authority, dependance and power. Think of the powerful challenge “what would Jesus do” and see how His humility may guide and assist us through challenges and interruptions we have t his week.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. France, R. T. (1994). Matthew. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed.). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.