July 15 | Disciples Receive the Kingdom Like a Child
Luke 18:17, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Jesus was so popular that people from all over Israel began to come to Him just to be blessed. Some of the people would even travel with their children so Jesus could touch them and speak a blessing over their lives. One day as a large number of parents brought their children for Jesus to bless, the disciples told them He was too busy (Luke 18:15).
Upon seeing what the disciples were doing to the parents, Jesus corrected them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16). Jesus then used the children as an example for the disciples and taught the following truth in today’s verse, which is, unless everyone receives the Kingdom of God like a child they will never enter into it.
Children, though not perfect or free from error, have simple faith and trust in their parents. Children receive by faith whatever their parents give them because if they don’t they will die. They literally have to receive whatever their parents give them for their day-to-day survival. Jesus wants us as His disciples to trust Him in the same way.
Jesus taught that His disciples must receive the Kingdom of God just like a child receives good things from their parents.
God’s Kingdom is the rule of King Jesus in our lives. In Romans 14:17, Paul taught the three main attributes of the Kingdom, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, we are to be born again and receive by faith (like a child) Jesus’ righteousness, peace and joy.
Often when we face hardships we lose our child-like faith in Jesus and try to fix our own problems in pride. We say, “I can fix this on my own.” However, in our times of testing Jesus wants us to humbly trust Him even more. Like a child humbly trusts their parents during a scary thunderstorm, God wants us to humble ourselves under His mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6). A.A. Hodge wrote, “There is nothing in the world that works such satanic, profound, God-defiant pride as false assurance; nothing works such utter humility, or brings to such utter self-emptiness, as the child-like spirit of true assurance.” Therefore, decide today to have child-like faith in Jesus and receive all that He has for you in the Kingdom of God!
Reflection
Action
- Examine your heart to see if you trust Jesus 100%.
- Repent of any prideful mindsets you may have.
- Daily receive from Jesus His righteousness, peace and joy like a child receives from their parent.