VOTD: "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 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. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me."(Matthew 18:1-5 ESV)
Significance in our world is taking what God has given you and striving to be the best we can. We seek to get higher than others and desire constant affirmation and accolades. We constantly want more than we need; collecting followers and fans like shoes and all the while create not peace but bondage and shame.
On the opposite hand, greatness in God's kingdom is having absolutely nothing to offer like that of a child but need. You see in Jesus's day humility was not a virtue. It was about climbing the social ladder and striving to be better. In fact, it was perfectly acceptable to be arrogant. The only people who were humble were the ones at the very bottom of the social ladder because they simply did not have anything to brag about. Greatness and elevating oneself was the goal. And children were viewed as a burden, a gamble the parents took hoping for return for their investment. In fact, the parents didn't even name a child until 8 days after it was born because they had until that point to decide if they even wanted to keep it. Before 8 days, the child had a 30% risk of death. And even if the child survived the first 8 days, there was still a 50% chance they would die before they reached adulthood at age 13. There were thousands of children simply left in a field or a dump to die. Those that were saved from that were raised as a slave and named by the place they were found. Names like dump or abandoned or worthless. So Jesus sits there listening as his disciples argue about who is the greatest and picks up this little child, the lowliest of the low, and tells them that this is what they are to strive for.
The funny thing is, we are just like them. Sure, we have this facade nowadays of humility but the same striving for greatness is present today. The humility Jesus refers to is humiliation in realization you have absolutely nothing to offer. That is what it takes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not "oh you are so humble." It is complete and utter humiliation in realization that because of your sin you have absolutely nothing to offer and yet God still chooses you. Greatness is realizing you have nothing to offer and then coming to Jesus to receive everything we need. We find our worth today by the gifts we have or what we can do. We are defined by the trophies and accolades we collect, by what we are doing, and what we are becoming. Jesus tells them that none of that is you. If that is who you are you have no chance in His kingdom. Build your foundation in Him and then go from there.
Your significance and worth comes from nearness to Him and nothing else. If you are near to Him and have nothing else you will find meaning no matter what it is you are doing. If you are not near to him it won't matter if you are working within ministry or your passion or whatever, it will burn out
You are not defined by what you do or what you have. You are not defined by your successes or your affirmations. You are not defined by what people think of you or by what or who you are. The only person on the planet who knows who you are is Jesus Christ because He is the One who created you. The only way to know who you are is to know who He is.
The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who knows how absolutely desperately they are in need and clings to Jesus because He has more than enough to fill him and will do so abundantly. Oh that we would be a people that were no longer defined by strength but by dependence. However, on the other hand humility doesn't mean self-depravation and self-loathing. It does not mean you hate yourself. For instance, a toddler is the most confident being on the planet. Completely confident yet completely dependent. They are aware of their need and yet they are aware of the one who can meet their need. When Jesus tells us that unless we become like a little child, a toddler, we will never enter His Kingdom, He is saying that until we realize that we too are lowly and utterly dependent on Him and that's okay, we will never experience the joy of being completely satisfied in Him. We will never be complete and whole. When we come before Him none of us has anything to offer. So stop hating yourself. Stop beating yourself up and falling prey to the constant lies being fed to you. It is in believing those lies that keeps you from receiving the life that He has for you.
At the end of the day, humility is not elevating yourself to the heavens or digging yourself in the dirt but simply standing content in the arms of Jesus. This is what it means to be great in the Kingdom.
Blessings!
Victoria
Significance in our world is taking what God has given you and striving to be the best we can. We seek to get higher than others and desire constant affirmation and accolades. We constantly want more than we need; collecting followers and fans like shoes and all the while create not peace but bondage and shame.
On the opposite hand, greatness in God's kingdom is having absolutely nothing to offer like that of a child but need. You see in Jesus's day humility was not a virtue. It was about climbing the social ladder and striving to be better. In fact, it was perfectly acceptable to be arrogant. The only people who were humble were the ones at the very bottom of the social ladder because they simply did not have anything to brag about. Greatness and elevating oneself was the goal. And children were viewed as a burden, a gamble the parents took hoping for return for their investment. In fact, the parents didn't even name a child until 8 days after it was born because they had until that point to decide if they even wanted to keep it. Before 8 days, the child had a 30% risk of death. And even if the child survived the first 8 days, there was still a 50% chance they would die before they reached adulthood at age 13. There were thousands of children simply left in a field or a dump to die. Those that were saved from that were raised as a slave and named by the place they were found. Names like dump or abandoned or worthless. So Jesus sits there listening as his disciples argue about who is the greatest and picks up this little child, the lowliest of the low, and tells them that this is what they are to strive for.
The funny thing is, we are just like them. Sure, we have this facade nowadays of humility but the same striving for greatness is present today. The humility Jesus refers to is humiliation in realization you have absolutely nothing to offer. That is what it takes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not "oh you are so humble." It is complete and utter humiliation in realization that because of your sin you have absolutely nothing to offer and yet God still chooses you. Greatness is realizing you have nothing to offer and then coming to Jesus to receive everything we need. We find our worth today by the gifts we have or what we can do. We are defined by the trophies and accolades we collect, by what we are doing, and what we are becoming. Jesus tells them that none of that is you. If that is who you are you have no chance in His kingdom. Build your foundation in Him and then go from there.
Your significance and worth comes from nearness to Him and nothing else. If you are near to Him and have nothing else you will find meaning no matter what it is you are doing. If you are not near to him it won't matter if you are working within ministry or your passion or whatever, it will burn out
You are not defined by what you do or what you have. You are not defined by your successes or your affirmations. You are not defined by what people think of you or by what or who you are. The only person on the planet who knows who you are is Jesus Christ because He is the One who created you. The only way to know who you are is to know who He is.
The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who knows how absolutely desperately they are in need and clings to Jesus because He has more than enough to fill him and will do so abundantly. Oh that we would be a people that were no longer defined by strength but by dependence. However, on the other hand humility doesn't mean self-depravation and self-loathing. It does not mean you hate yourself. For instance, a toddler is the most confident being on the planet. Completely confident yet completely dependent. They are aware of their need and yet they are aware of the one who can meet their need. When Jesus tells us that unless we become like a little child, a toddler, we will never enter His Kingdom, He is saying that until we realize that we too are lowly and utterly dependent on Him and that's okay, we will never experience the joy of being completely satisfied in Him. We will never be complete and whole. When we come before Him none of us has anything to offer. So stop hating yourself. Stop beating yourself up and falling prey to the constant lies being fed to you. It is in believing those lies that keeps you from receiving the life that He has for you.
At the end of the day, humility is not elevating yourself to the heavens or digging yourself in the dirt but simply standing content in the arms of Jesus. This is what it means to be great in the Kingdom.
Blessings!
Victoria