Matthew 18:1-6 (NASB) says, ““1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said,Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

“At that time” is referring to the end of Matthew 17 when the tax collectors for the temple asked Peter, “Does your Teacher, or Rabbi, not pay the temple tax?’ Jesus explains that a temple tax should be paid by “strangers’ and not “sons” because the sons are free! There is a huge difference between a tithe and a tax because in the eyes of the kingdom, sons are free from a temple tax, but Jesus would agree to pay it for the sake of preventing and removing offenses! It was never the heart of the Father for people to be offended by His righteousness and goodness, and God would provide the tax through a piece of money in a fish’s mouth!

This leads the disciples to ask, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Undoubtedly, the tax issue prompted this question just in case they were greater than the Pharisees or anyone who collected the temple tax simply because they were “free” as God’s children. To eliminate pride, He calls for a child to come to Him. Here was three points that the disciples must abide by concerning the kingdom:

1. BE CONVERTED and become like a child in order to enter the kingdom of God, similar to being “born again” Too many are inspired to be like the mega pastor, the pro athlete or the rockstar, but not like a child. All the child wants to do is be in the presence of their Father. There is nothing more encouraging than having his support, seeing him in the stands at the games and coaching on the sidelines! Their hearts are about simplicity and devotion! They do not allow “realness” to blindside their faith or taint their imagination! And it is through this lens that we can enter the kingdom of God and begin to unlock the limitless treasures God has made available to us!
2. HUMBLE yourself as a child, and then you will be the greatest in the kingdom! Being prideful in knowledge, religion, titles and experience will rob you of functioning in the kingdom of God because you will start to look more like Satan than you will Jesus! It is humility that attracts the grace of God! A child recognizes his or her needs and knows exactly who fills those needs. Being humble as a child is recognizing that you have a hole that only your Father who is in heaven can fill! Children, through humility, will oftentimes function better in a more structured and disciplined setting!
3. RECEIVE a child in the name of Christ! People treat children’s ministry as “second class” ministry. Some leadership in churches just put teachers in children’s ministry to fulfill a need who have very little to no heart and passion for it, which causes it to look more like daycare. We must stop giving someone something to do so they can feel better about accomplishing something! Children are not the future church, but they are the present one! They possess the faith and supernatural ability to hear and respond to the voice of God, and it is up to us to cultivate an atmosphere of revival. We cannot expect them to operate in that if we ourselves as adults are not setting the example and initiating something they can replicate! It starts first at HOME way before it ever does in CHURCH! Therefore, do not reject children, especially when they have a calling and purpose to be nurtured and shaped. It is our responsibility to help them in that!

From Luke’s gospel in 18:15-17, people were bringing children for Jesus to touch them, and the disciples were rebuking them. Then, Jesus disciplined His disciples by saying, “Do not forbid the children to come to me.” Do we create a culture where children are welcomed with the presence of God? Do we cultivate an atmosphere to where they want to be touched and transformed by the love and power of God?

Our goal is not to be “the greatest” but rather to be “the least”, the one whose heart is to serve from a place of sonship! It’s about exchanging a title for a towel! Once we have a mindset of trying to become the greatest, we lose focus of honoring Jesus and welcome a spirit of competition, which has no place in the heart of the bride of Christ! If we stay humble with the heart and mindset of a child, we will keep the main thing the “main thing.”

Then Jesus says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” If you want to know how Jesus feels about child pornography, abuse and trafficking, well, now you know! Jesus said this in context to receiving a child in His name. Therefore, belittling and rejecting children in the name of religion causes more harm than good. Age is just a number! There is no such thing as a “Junior Holy Spirit”, but rather the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives on the inside of each one of us! Our goal should be to remove offenses, and if we have caused them in a child, whether you are a teacher, coach or parent, make things right! Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers (parents), provoke not your children to wrath.” If we what we are saying and doing is causing them to turn away from the gospel and have a derogatory view of Yahweh, then something needs to change in us! It is much more than a method of raising children, but it is about reflecting the love of the Father through proper discipline and the nurturing comfort of the Holy Spirit!

From today’s devotional, our hope and desire is that our hearts will change towards babies, children and the youth of our generation! They need us to be supporters, encouragers and prayer coverings over them! If anything, they simply need us to be present, just like God the Father wants us to be present with Him!