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And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said,“Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus in Matt 18:2,3
Faith. Trust. Peace. Power. Compassion. Many outstanding attributes of character marked the life and ministry of Jesus. But one stood at the center, serving as the catalyst for the rest: humility.
Humility. Jesus lived it and modeled it as the one who came not to be served, but to serve. He preached it to his disciples as a prerequisite for those who would enter the Kingdom. Paul held it up as the path to glory for Jesus and a key to living within the body of Christ.
So, what is humility?
I have heard many definitions and reminders of humility. I’ve even taught some of them. One common saying goes like this: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” This is practical and even helpful, but I’m afraid it doesn’t go deep enough. It is a practical reminder of brotherly love – which is the fruit of humility – but it doesn’t drill down to the core of what humility is. Fortunately, Jesus does.
In Matthew 18, Jesus addresses his disciples. Interestingly, he chooses to put a child in their midst as a model of humility. Did I read that right? Jesus put a child in their midst as a model of what? Humility? And then he says this: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” [Matt 18:4]
Unless children were different in Jesus’ day, he certainly didn’t have that earlier saying about humility in mind when he chose a child as his architectural blueprint.
I know this because I have four children. And I have been living with these creatures for almost fourteen years now. “…Thinking of yourself less?” Is that typical of children? Not the ones I know and love. They think of themselves first when it comes to almost everything – where they sit in the car, who gets to play the game, who gets to go first, who gets to go at all. It’s me, myself and I. And every “I” for himself.
So what did Jesus have in mind when it came to children and humility? How can we “turn and become like children?” I think back to the days after our firstborn – Elizabeth – came into the world. I remember one moment like it was yesterday. I was holding this tiny, five-pound baby in my arms, looking into her sweet little face, when a monumental reality hit me: I was the only father she had. In that moment, two things became sharply apparent: my responsibility and her dependency.
For the next few years, she would depend on the love, care and compassion of others for her very survival. She was born with two hands, but they were empty hands. Empty hands that could do nothing – for herself or anyone else. Empty hands with nothing to offer. Whether she knew it or not, she was desperate.
Jesus said that turning and becoming like children was a requirement for entering the kingdom. So how do we become like children? We stand before God with empty hands. Empty hands that have let go of everything we thought we had to offer: pride, self-reliance, performance, good character or anything else. Realizing that, in and of ourselves, we have nothing to offer; nothing to commend ourselves to God, other than complete dependence upon him. We stand with empty hands.
The authors of We Would See Jesus describe this key to entering the Kingdom so well:
“Grace permits us to come (nay, demands that we come) as empty sinners to be blessed: empty of right feelings, good character and satisfactory record, with nothing to commend ourselves but our deep need, fully and frankly acknowledged… The struggle, of course, is to believe it and to be willing to be but empty sinners to the end of our days, that grace may continue to match our needs.”
Did you notice that word “struggle”? The “struggle” to be “willing to be but empty sinners to the end of our days.” Oh, how true it is – even in the Christian life. We start out with empty hands before God and then, before we even realize it, we have begun to pick things up and hold them in our hands: good works, good character, changed lives. We think we have become something. We think that we have something to offer. Something to offer God and others. That’s called pride – the chief nemesis of humility!
Ironic isn’t it? That the very fruit of God’s work in our lives can become a barrier to true fellowship with him?
It’s time to take a look at our hands.
Young or old. Rich or poor. New believer or mature Christian. All must approach God the same way – every day – with empty hands.
