The Greatest in the Kingdom

      “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’” (Matthew 18:1, ESV).

      And Jesus replied and said to them, “The man who never does anything wrong, is perfectly mature, always gives the right answers, knows every Bible doctrine to the nth degree, that one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

      He continued His discourse saying unto them, “The Christian who preaches with the greatest flare, the one who attends the most assemblies, gives the most in the collection, dresses the most modestly, abstains from the greatest amount of questionable activities and speaks the most eloquently in Bible classes, that one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

      Now that He was on a roll, Jesus kept on preaching, “The Christian who sacrifices the most, serves the most, eats the least, drinks the least, travels the farthest but stays the closest is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

      As the disciples began to drift away in despair, Jesus concluded, “The Christian whose cross is the heaviest and most apparent, but never complains, who only smiles and never cries, who takes everything on an even keel, who looks and lives just like Me, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

      Actually, that is not what Jesus said at all. Rather,

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. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2-4, ESV).

      That’s what it takes to be the great in God’s kingdom? I need to become like Ryan, Joe, Marney, Emma, Bailey, Chase and all the other children in our midst? What does that mean?

      We become like children by humbling ourselves. But what demonstrates humility in children? They differ in temperament, obedience, intelligence and many other characteristics. The one characteristic every child shares is dependence—dependence on someone else for survival. To eat, someone must feed them. To be safe, someone must protect them. To survive, someone must instruct them. Children cannot survive without others.

      We must recognize our dependence upon God. If we are going to survive, we must rely on Him and just do what He says. Only then will we be great in His kingdom.

Edwin L. Crozier