become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes
lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives
such a child in my name receives me. See that you do not despise any of
these little ones, for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my
heavenly Father.
Reflection:
While the disciples are more interested to
the roles they will play in the coming Kingdom, Jesus on
the other hand is busy telling them of His eminent fate. He
will suffer and die but rose again on the third day. This
teaching fell on deaf ears. The disciples are already
positioning themselves into hierarchy. And so they ask
Him who would be considered great in the kingdom of
heaven. They need to spruce up their credentials in order to
qualify. Rather than provide qualifications for the greatest
or talk about a hierarchical structure, Jesus takes a
little child as an example of greatness. Heaven is not
earned by superior qualities but by meekness, trust and
humility. These are necessary ingredients in order to love.
These qualities are natural to a child who is still innocent
about the wickedness of the world. And this is what
the disciples must strive to achieve. To reclaim these
childlike qualities that will enable them to master the
art of love.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021