As Little Children

This message explores how Jesus calls us to receive the kingdom of God as little children by cultivating humility that depends on our Heavenly Father, a hunger for the spiritual nourishment of His Word, and a curiosity that freely asks questions and seeks understanding. Drawing from a childhood story of dependence and from many scriptures, it shows that these traits are not optional but required for closeness with God and for growth toward His eternal family. God desires us to look to Him as our provider, teacher, and guide rather than trying to navigate life independently. How can we, as adults, reclaim the childlike humility, hunger, and curiosity that Jesus says are necessary to enter God’s kingdom?

Thank you, Mrs. Miller, for sharing with us. God certainly deserves the glory. It’s really a mature point of view for us to understand that even in the difficult times, it’s easy to praise God in the good times, but at all times to be considering the blessings God has given us, even in the difficult path that we are sometimes. So I appreciate that very much.

Just after the feast this year, our oldest child, Gabriel, turned eighteen. Not so much a child anymore. He’s taller than me. He’s not quite bigger than me yet, but he’s taller than me anyways. And we’ve gone from so small to very large, and it’s fun to reflect sometimes. My wife was pulling up some pictures on the computer just yesterday, and we’re just reflecting on some of the times when our children were younger, and the joy that’s associated with them, so many different moments, fortunately recorded on picture. But truly, we all have that childhood experience that we go through, and so you would think maybe, perhaps I’ll tell you a story about my childhood, but I won’t, because I was really an angel. I hardly did everything wrong, and my stories are boring. Instead, I’m gonna tell a story about my wife, who had a much more adventurous childhood, and this story that I share with you is one that is treasured by her father, and he tells it often enough that I’m sure that I heard it probably half a dozen times.

There was a time when Sarah was small, and I don’t know how small or how young, but she was young, and a neighbor kid comes by, Tom’s inside, my father-in-law, and she gets his attention that he needs to come outside. I don’t know how he addressed her, whether she called him Mr. or Tom or what, but anyways, she directed Tom outside to where they had a large tree, and up at the top of the tree is Sarah. Sarah was a gifted climber, and so she was all the way at the top, not just part way, and she wasn’t coming down. So Tom, understanding the true risk that would go, still had to go up, and he climbed all the way up to the top of the tree, and he grabs her, and he remarks as he tells his story that as soon as he got to her, she was very content and she had no fear that okay dad you can take us down now just like a princess, all right it’s your job to get us out of this, and they climbed down the tree and they made it as you can see today she is here before us. But there’s something rather wonderful about that story, isn’t there? We have a little girl who’s old enough and capable enough and with enough curiosity and this adventurous spirit that she’s going to climb all the way to the top of this tree, but when she found herself in a situation she couldn’t handle she knew immediately who she would turn to. She turned to her dad. She was perfectly content to depend on him, on her father. And as adults, we tend to think of maturity in coming into the point where we can be independent, we can do things on our own, we take care of ourselves, and we no longer need our parents, not in the ways that we had done before. But interestingly, Jesus taught that there are certain characteristics of little children that we must retain or even regain if we’re going to enter God’s kingdom.

Now, we read it already, but let’s turn back to Mark chapter 10. I left out one of the verses that I like to read now. Mark chapter 10. We will start in verse 13. This time we’re going to read through 15. Mark chapter 10, verse 13.

Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Will by no means. That’s pretty strong language. Jesus is saying this is very important. There are characteristics of children that are not only pleasing to Him, but they are a requirement of the character of the spiritual children of God. So today, we’re going to look at three characteristics of little children. We’re going to look at humility, hunger, and curiosity, and how these traits are important to have as children of God.

Number one, be humble, dependent, not independent. And of course, you knew we were going to cover humility. How could we not? Let’s turn to Matthew this time, chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. We’re going to read verses one through four here. Matthew 18 verse one.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

See, we gain our independence and our choices, but Jesus said we have a task in front of us to humble ourselves. A little child is generally humble. They often view their father as this superpower. Nobody could ever take on their father. That’s often how little children see theirs. They understand that adults are stronger. They’re dependent, and they are totally okay with being dependent. They’re not deluded into thinking they can do everything on their own. They trust their parents to provide for them, to protect them, often run to their parents when they feel like they’re in any type of danger. How many of you have been grabbed by a little child while they’re thinking you’re their dad or their mom and oops, wrong one, but you know, they’re on a different level than we are. Anyways, they run to them for help. But humility goes beyond strength and protection. Humility is also understanding who you are, what your own capabilities or shortcomings may be, and not being too proud to seek help from somebody else. As Christ states, humility is very important within that kingdom, within that family of God. It is a required characteristic. And as we see in scripture, often humility is paired with the ability or right with the relationship between God and man. I’m gonna read a few examples, but there’s many instances in the Bible.

Here’s one example, Proverbs 22 verse four.

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.

See, tied together, tied together with God is humility. Here’s another one, Zephaniah two verse three.

Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.

To me, that’s interesting that you’ve got this purposeful pursuit, you are to seek it, just like Christ says, we have to humble ourselves, seek that, and then it’s linked to protection, just like child turns to their parents for protection. Micah six verse eight says,

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

What does the Lord require of you? Not just suggest, what does He require? Walk humbly with Him. That’s important to Him. We can ask ourselves then, do we truly desire to be close to Him? And if so, we know how we need to walk. If we are more inclined to pursue our own will, we may not be walking humbly with Him. We may be walking pridefully on our own path. God is not a follower. God is a leader. We follow Him. But we have choices, of course. Now, God makes it clear in other places that it’s a requirement to be close to Him, apart from where Jesus said Himself that we need to. I’m going to read this one from Isaiah 57. We read it, I’d say, fairly frequently when it comes to quoted scriptures, but for good reason. Isaiah 57, verse 15. This states who God dwells with, and that means it’s a close relationship. So 57, verse 15,

Thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Now contextually this is within a section of scripture where God is stating that He is going to bring back His people, a rebellious, a prideful people, and He’s going to bring them back through punishment, judgment. He is going to humble them, cause they wouldn’t humble themselves, so that they can have a relationship with Him. Now between the two, humbling ourselves or having God humble us, probably we wanna choose to pursue humility ourselves. Again, the requirement, not just it’s nice to have, the requirement is that we abide, we have a relationship with them through our humility.

Now, maybe in your life you’ve heard, or you’ve heard expressed in other circumstances, a parent being proud of their child. They might say, that’s my boy, or, you know, that’s my kid. And sometimes it might be sarcasm, but as a child, when you hear the praise of your parent in that way, it makes you feel good to know that your parent looks on you in a favorable way, that you might have made them happy. But wouldn’t we also like God to say the same for us? Well, there are some places in scripture where we recognize God speaking in such a favorable way. One of those, and maybe the most famous, might be in Acts chapter 13, a quote where we have the writer quoting scripture. He says, I, and this is again quoting what God has said,

I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.

I, it’s hard to find, in my opinion, a more affirmation of, or positive reinforcement for who you are as a person than God saying, he’s a man after My own heart. David was close to God. Even though he wasn’t perfect, and maybe that’s why we appreciate the example, but let’s look at how David looked at the relationship with God, and we’ll see how humility is a strong part of that. Let’s turn to Psalm chapter 25. We’re gonna read Psalm of a man that was called a man after God’s own heart. Psalm 25, we won’t read the whole Psalm. We’ll start in verse one, though. Psalm 25, verse one.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Now, if there’s a statement leading with humility, that’s it right there. I lift up my soul to You.

O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me.

And here we have that parallel between a child and their parent, where you turn to your parents for that protection, for that help, and he’s putting it all, it’s like he’s reaching his hands up. God help me. Verse three,

Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old.

Again, the language here that we have from David, looking to God, show me how to do this. He wasn’t independent. He was very dependent on his God for how he lived his life and his responsibilities. He had big responsibilities, but God can work with somebody who is willing to be humble. Verse eight,

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Again, David had big responsibility. Not only did he view God in such a way that he was able to have that close relationship, but he wanted to share how. A humble attitude. Not having everything figured out is okay. Going to seek what God has to say about the matter is a good way to operate because our Father wants good for us, and He’ll give it to us. Verse twelve says,

Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

So again, not looking to himself, but looking to God. That’s what God desires. God desires that we would look to Him, not having to figure out everything ourselves, but looking to Him. In fact, He doesn’t really want us to be willful. There’s another Psalm, I’ll just quote this one for you, thirty two verses eight and nine, and it shares a perspective, once again, from God’s mind, recorded by one of His servants. Verse eight of thirty two says,

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

And the God’s eye view, you know, being able to see everything is a pretty good perspective. But in verse nine it says,

Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.

He doesn’t want to have to deal with us that way. He would rather we trust Him and we’re humble before Him, not so proud that we gotta go out and show Him we can do our own thing. No. In fact, how many times does He call Israel and others stiff-necked and stubborn and not in a good way? Jesus said humility is essential in large degree because without humility we can’t be close to God. So, point number one, be humble, like a little child.

Number two, be hungry. Have you ever noticed how frequently babies and young children need to eat? I’m sure that Megan and Mac are being reminded of that constantly. According to the CDC, newborns typically feed eight to twelve times every twenty-four hours, while toddlers should be offered food approximately five to six times daily, compared with the three meals that adults will typically eat. I might be more like four or five. I’ve always been sturdy, as you know. But the rapidly growing bodies demand frequent nourishment, and they certainly know how to get our attention when they’re hungry. During the first year of a newborn baby’s life, birth weight typically triples from where they start on the day of their birth. Two hundred percent increase in weight over one year. That’s typical. During the second year, weight generally increases by roughly twenty-five percent, although individual growth varies, and the third year growth continues, but still more gradually.

Matthew five six, Jesus said,

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

God wants us to become like Him. We know that. God created mankind as Godkind. We are in His image, and we’re called children in many different places. We are the children of God. How do we become like Him? Well, in the book of Matthew, when Jesus is confronting the tempter, He quotes Deuteronomy, He says,

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

Our physical lives are a period of spiritual development. We are here for a purpose. It’s comparable to the gestation of a child before birth. When we repent, when we’re baptized, when we receive God’s Holy Spirit, then we become spiritually begotten children of God. And in Peter, first Peter actually, chapter one, he describes Christians as having been begotten through incorruptible seed. Just as a child conceived in the womb is already the child of its parents, we are already God’s children, although we have not yet experienced the fullness of a spiritual life. Like children, we need nourishment. If we see ourselves in that way, which does require humility, we’ll understand we need to be taking in what God’s word. We need to be taking it and feeding off of what God has for us on a regular basis. We don’t want to starve, so we must spend time with God. It includes prayer, but it goes beyond prayer into the Bible study, reading God’s word, meditating, taking time. There are times when we read because it’s a story and it’s interesting, but there’s times where we take a scripture at a time or even sometimes just a phrase and we meditate, we sit and just think about what is the breadth, the width of this statement. God can share with us perspectives from His view that we don’t have. And that can be not just enlightening, it is nourishing, it is for our growth. How often does a little child eat? How often are we seeking God for the food that He’s given us? We’re to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And yet, as physical beings, God gave us all a choice. Every single one of us has a choice for how we are going to choose to spend our time today and the next day and the next day depending on the circumstances that are about.

Let’s turn to first John chapter three. First John chapter three. John records a gospel for us and he also has several letters that are recorded for us. First John chapter three. Let’s read verses two and three here. First John chapter three verse two.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

We recognize we are His children now, but we’re not complete. We are not in the spirit yet, we’re still of the corruptible, but we must stay connected to God. This hope that we have, as he puts, as John puts it, is cause for us to purify. That means to get out the bad and to take in the good. So when Jesus says, connected to the vine, abide in Me, in John 15, we’re talking about being connected to that nutrition. And this parallels then to a baby growing inside the mother, being connected to an umbilical that feeds it nourishment. And how often? Constantly. All the time. As it needs to grow. As was stated, the CDC reports newborns typically feed eight to twelve times a day every twenty four hours. Toddlers a little less but still often, but babies in the womb are always connected, constantly receiving nutrition. Why? Because the fastest period of human growth occurs before birth. Nothing afterward comes even close to the transformation that occurs from the very conception all the way to the birth of the baby. So during the first born year, newborn’s baby’s life, birth weight typically triples to two hundred percent, but from just week twelve to birth, weight increases twenty four thousand percent. And that’s starting at twelve weeks. If we were to say starting at conception to almost nothing, to a baby, well, what percentage is there? The growth of a baby growing inside a mother is incredible. The nutrition never needs more than that. So are we hungry as we are growing and developing into what we will be? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. So be hungry. Fulfill your part in the development of your godliness. So that’s point two.

Point three, be curious. Now this plays into both the first and second point, being hungry, being humble. Have you ever noticed how many questions little children ask? It won’t be long before Mac and Megan are reminded of this. A survey of a thousand mothers found that children between the ages of two and ten asked an estimated two hundred and eighty eight questions every day. And academic research published in 2007 found that preschoolers asked an average of seventy six information seeking questions per hour during observed conversations. Why so many questions? Well, children recognize there’s much that they don’t know, and they want to know, they have a desire, they’re eager to learn, they have a hunger for that understanding. They are not embarrassed to ask, and so they do, often. God does not expect different from His children. And we see that in many scriptures. I won’t read the many that are there, I’ll read several. When God promised Abraham land, Abraham asked, Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it? That’s in Genesis fifteen. When God shared with Abraham His judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked, would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? When Rebekah, after having conceived, you know, the babies are inside her, the twins were rambunctious, and Rebekah asked, if all is well, why am I like this? And you know, God answered her. He answered, as her loving parent. Moses, in Exodus three, he asked God, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? And as we know, he asked several questions. He didn’t really want to do that. Gideon asked, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? A little bit harder question. How about this one from Job? Why have You set me as Your target? Peter asked Jesus, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Seems like a child’s question, right? Also, Peter asked, Lord, where are You going? That’s in John chapter thirteen. See, hard questions, big questions, minor details, everything in between, little children will ask you. They’ll ask you about everything. I asked my dad, how do they get the baby out of mom when it’s in the belly? He gave me a brief explanation, and as he would like to say, then he asked me, or he told me, she’s gonna have to be naked to do that. And I said, I know that already, and I left. Anyways, we ask questions, we ask everything, and it’s okay to ask God. It’s okay to ask God your questions. He’s the parent. It’s okay to prove God and ask Him questions that are hard. He’ll pass the test. It’s okay to come to God with our wonder. It’ll help build the relationship we have with Him. And our curiosity, it can extend beyond what’s just happening around us, just the circumstances of the day. God gave us this tremendous creation, and He gave us a sense of wonder, wanting to explore, wanting to find out. Because God knows that we were going to be curious.

There’s a scripture, Proverbs 25 verse 2, it states,

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

God gave us a beautiful place, but He gave us this wonder, a desire to discover, and the deeper we dive, often the more convinced we are that He exists. He proves Himself in that great adventure. Just like a small child, we all have inquisitive minds. We like to know. He likes to tell us. And of course, discovery isn’t limited only to the physical. We understand that there is spiritual treasure out there. Let’s turn to Psalm 111. Psalm 111. We’ll just read the first three scriptures here, the highlight on the second, but Psalm 111 verse one,

Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.

Now we gather on the Sabbath often to have a holy convocation at His command, and we go through the wonders of what God has for us. We like to share them, and it says here that study is done by those who appreciate what God has to offer. We do that collectively, but of course it goes beyond the Sabbath. It goes beyond just this time that we, as children of God, dive into His spiritual truths. We know of many places where it says to seek like treasure. We won’t take time to turn them, but the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen of the pearl of great price. Like a little child, it is good for us to be curious. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you, says the Christ, Matthew chapter seven.

So to conclude, think about a little child and the relationship that they have with their loving parents. The child doesn’t have all the answers. They don’t have all the strength in the world. They don’t have all the wisdom or the experience necessary to navigate this life on their own. They’re dependent, and there’s okay, they’re okay with that fact. They don’t have a shame that they need their parents. Within God’s design, they have something wonderful in those parents that they’re blessed to have. They provide for the child. They teach the child. They want to see that child grow and to succeed and have good things, and the child doesn’t have to pretend that they’re something that they’re not. They’re humble enough to recognize they need their parents. They’re hungry, and they let their parents know so that they can be fed. They’re curious, always asking questions, always learning, always discovering new things. And doesn’t that sound like the relationship that our Heavenly Father desires to have with us as an individual? He doesn’t expect us to know everything already. He doesn’t expect us to be self-sufficient, or He doesn’t expect for us to have reached maturity in a moment. What does He expect? He expects us to grow, and He wants us to look to Him through the process.

Let’s be reminded once more of Christ’s words in Mark ten verse fifteen.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

Jesus didn’t state that we must appreciate the qualities of a little child. He was telling us that God has expectations for His children. Expectations. Doesn’t any loving parent set up expectations for their child, for their growth and for their success? We’re invited to join God’s family, to who we choose to be. As we continue growing toward our place in God’s eternal family, let’s remember and grow in these characteristics. Let’s be humble. Let’s be hungry. Let’s be curious. And let us never forget that God is near and continue to look to Him as our Father.