Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3-4
Working with my youngest client is a beautiful reminder of what we should become like if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven.
After her mother attended one of my workshops, she invested in her 12-year-old daughter’s becoming with my Beautiful Becomes Her Life Coaching package.
Her daughter is not the typical age for my coaching clients—young adults and adult women. But, because she is a child and a tween girl—customizing her sessions with a childlike focus was a teaching moment for me. The Bible specifically tells us that we need to become like little children. It says in Matthew 18:3-4: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” What I know about children is: — Children have an excitement for learning. We, as adults, get stuck because we stop learning. We rather struggle through life than accept the invitation from Jesus to learn of Him (Matthew 11:29). In Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly, he says: I invite you to fall in love with learning again, or for the very first time. Become a continuous learner, especially in the area of your faith…Wherever you find excellence, you find continuous learning. They go hand in hand. Wherever you find that continuous learning is missing, you find mediocrity. — Children see the world differently than adults do. Entering their world and seeing things with their eyes is refreshing. The first homework assignment I gave my 12-year-old client was writing the ways she liked who she was becoming and coloring a girl butterfly. The beauty of this coloring project was that she colored the butterfly through a child’s lens.
How many of us would have done what was expected and colored the entire image? Sometimes life can become so familiar or routine that we settle into a monotonous Christianity mindset that lacks awe and excitement. Do you need to view life from the eyes of a child? Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). — Children know they are dependent on their parents to provide them with the care they need to be happy and healthy, and to grow and develop well. One of the main reasons adults—including Christians—reject Jesus is pride. Pride will make you believe you can make it through life on your own. Pride will keep you from Christ, and make you think you know better than Him how to live your life. God desires a humble spirit. A humble spirit is not found in a self-help book but is total dependence upon God for everything in life. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit - O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.” There are a plethora of ways to become like little children—trusting, obeying, receiving and giving love freely. Jesus wants us to become like little children. But He said we need to change. Where do you need to change most to become like little children?
Prayer: Jesus help us to see what we need to change to become like little children. The older we get, the more we become less dependent on you—and the less humility like a little child we have. Change us so that we are in awe of you, in awe of life, in awe of learning and becoming like a little child again.
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