Jesus once taught us that if we want to be admitted to His Kingdom we have to become like a little child.  Let me tell you why I had reason to reflect on that again recently.  A good friend of mine had lost his wife.  He asked me to conduct the funeral.  He particularly asked me to speak on that text in Matthew chapter 18 where Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.”  That led me to do some thinking about why Jesus demands childlikeness as the condition of entry into His Kingdom.  What was Jesus actually getting at?

Some suggest that childhood is the period of innocence.  It’s further suggested that this is why Jesus ties it in with repentance – “unless you turn”.  What He’s getting at is that we need do a U-turn.  It’s the Biblical way of talking about repenting.  That means not only being sorry for our wrongdoing but also turning away from it.  So the argument goes that we need to get back to that period of innocence in our life.  Turn your back on the smug selfishness that often lets you ride roughshod over others and be like an innocent child.

Well, that sounds nice.  But if you plan to get into Jesus’ Kingdom by returning to childhood innocence I wish you much luck – because you’ll need it.  The Christian faith does not teach that we are born innocent.  You didn’t need to teach your children how to do wrong.  That happened all by itself; because we come into this world with the seeds of sin in our hearts.  King David made that very clear in Psalm 51.  Innocence is a relative term and there’s really no such thing as childhood innocence.  I don’t believe that this is what Jesus meant by us becoming like little children.

Others suggest that children are accepting and trusting.  We’re told that they readily accept what they don’t understand.  That’s an attractive option.  Don’t we even talk about having a child-like faith?  We could even argue that this sums up some people very well.  There are folk who are very accepting of their circumstances.  Often despite horrible things happening in their life they never complain but accept with childlike faith that this is their lot in life.  That’s a wonderful thing – but let me tell you something.  Back in the days when I brought up my young family I learned a few things.  One of those things is that little children can be very persistent with their questions.  “Daddy, why did our puppy die?”  “Well sweetie, because he got sick!”  “But Daddy, why didn’t God make him better when we prayed?”   “Well, maybe the Lord wanted the puppy to be in heaven.”  “But Daddy, why…?”  Those of you who are parents of young children know how long the “why” questions go on for.  Little children can ask endless questions about things that intrigue them or trouble them.

So let me tell you what I think is the heart of what Jesus is really getting at.  There is one thing about little children… and we are talking about little children (Luke, in his gospel, even refers to them as babes) that is absolutely beyond doubt.  Little children are utterly dependent.  Little children cannot survive without parental care.  You have to feed them and clothe them… and that’s only the beginning.  Without the care of an adult, little children die.  A small toddler can do virtually nothing without Mum and Dad or some other adult.

That takes us to the very heart of the Christian message.  Just as a young child is totally dependent on its parents so we are totally dependent on Jesus.  Little children have no claim on anything.  They cannot stand on their rights or on their achievements.  All they can do is keep on receiving the love and care of their parents.

Well, in the same way God gives the Kingdom to those who have no claims on it... to those who realise they are utterly dependent on Him.  Like little children.  This is the very heart of the gospel: it’s not that we make it by our achievements or because we’ve managed to wrangle our way up the human pecking order.  It’s simply because Jesus has provided for us all that we will ever need for an eternal life in glory. The words of an old hymn sum it up well: Nothing in my hands I bring, / Simply to Your cross I cling.

The reality is that there is absolutely nothing you can do to earn your admission into God’s Kingdom and neither can I.  All we can do is receive it as a gift from Jesus.

John Westendorp