Turn Around

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

TURN AROUND

Matt 18:1-4

18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

NIV

How is an adult supposed to become like a child? It is interesting the Greek word that is translated as change means to turn around rather than be transformed. This could mean that unless we turn around from our adult thinking, and think like we did when we were a child, we will not get to enter the kingdom of heaven. We spend most of our life trying to think more like an adult, learning more and more, trying to get a better understanding of things. This would include making great strides to garner the truth from the word of God. We think the more we learn the better we will be. Knowledge is the key to everything. But that is not what Jesus is telling his disciples, and us, about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, Jesus did not actually answer their question, but instead gave them something to think about regarding just getting into the kingdom of heaven. It does not matter who is the greatest, but who gets in. Being the greatest is an integral part of adult thinking. We always want to be the best that we can be, or be the best version of you, or be the best you can be until you more than be better. All sorts of motivational slogans similar to these are to be found by the adult searcher for self-improvement. But Jesus says that we need to turn around and become like little children, which implies that we become dependent on God, dependent on Jesus as children are on their parents if we ever want to see the kingdom of heaven. Once again, this goes against all we were taught to grow up and become independent, to be self-reliant, and be productive members of society, contributing something to the world around us in some way. As Christians, we have been taught to learn the scriptures, learn and learn more. Denominations are full of institutions of higher learning, and many, if not all, require anyone who is either called or wants to be in ministry to pass all their tests and get some degree, saying that we have learned enough, and are adult enough to minister for God. But that is no guarantee we can enter the kingdom of heaven. No, it does not matter how smart we are, how many degrees we have, or anything about our pursuit of being the best version of ourselves we can be. What matters is that we turn around and see that we are completely dependent on Jesus for our requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven. A child has no pride in their accomplishments, for they have none. A child only knows that they must humble themselves before their parents if they are going to survive life itself, having clothes to wear, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, and toys to play with. A child cannot provide for himself but needs their parent to supply all their needs. A child must have complete faith in their parents. This is what Jesus is saying. We need to look to Him to supply all our needs, which our greatest need is to enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us turn around in our attitude from being independent to dependent. Let us turn around from thinking like an adult to thinking like a child. This does not mean we have to be a child, other than a child of God, but we must have complete faith in Jesus. We must turn around.