Yesterday, I plugged my phone in to charge it, and it gave me a message that I was charging it too often. It said I should charge less if I wanted to extend the battery’s life. Now, that is simply a phone that is too smart for its own good. Today, we look at a passage where Jesus’ disciples had gotten too smart for their own good. Mark tells us (Mark 9:33) that they got into an argument over which of them was the greatest. Then they asked Jesus, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1).
Were they arguing about who had done the greatest deeds? They had seen Jesus do some remarkable things, and they themselves had done some pretty heady stuff. Peter, for example, had walked on water. He witnessed the transfiguration. The temptation to be proud is almost overwhelming in moments like these. They were all thinking, “We have done some pretty remarkable things,” which caused them to ask this ridiculous question: “Who among us is presently the greatest?”
Jesus answered by bringing a child in front of them. He told them they had to become like children if they wanted to go to heaven.
What is so surprising about that is that children were the lowest of the lowest in the ancient world. They had no clout and no importance, especially girls. Jesus told them, “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matt 18:5).
Each child is distinct, with its own personality and traits. Each one is a gift from God. We must treat them with dignity and refrain from comparing them. Each one of us is a gift from God as a Child of God.
Jesus warned those who do not value children. He uses some of the strongest languages ever.
Matthew 18:6-7 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!
He goes on to warn us that if we are sinning or causing these little ones to sin, we should deal with it and cut it out immediately. If what we see, do, or think affects others in a bad way, we should consider how God feels about these little ones. Jesus goes on to tell us that these little ones have angels in heaven advocating for them (Matt 18:10). Do we really want to despise what God values?
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