JESUS ONLY LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN

No Grownups Allowed

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 Matthew 18:3

Stop and think about it for a moment...When we are made born again, a brand new spirit, born of God's own Spirit, we are a new born creation shoved into an old world worn sinner's body and soul.   Can you say ISSUES??   We don't "feel" any different, but by faith we are expected to believe we are made different; vastly different.   Why else does Jesus tell us, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children..."???  Jesus knows when the Holy Spirit births a new spirit that spirit is going into an old sinner.  "Change and become like a little child..." is not only some of the best advice anyone ever gave, but, as Jesus clearly says, "Truly I tell you..." it is absolutely what must happen.   As usual, when Jesus tells us, "This is very important for your eternal destiny," we ignore what He tells us, and we fit Jesus into our lives as it suits us.   "There is a way which looks and feels right, but it is the street leading to the graveyard."  (My paraphrase of Proverbs 14:12)   Jesus is absolutely serious.

   

Why does Jesus insist; require; demand that we must change and become like little children?   Well, tell you what, next time you're in your church do a little experiment.   First approach an adult man, and say, "Would you take my hand, walk with me, and allow me to lead you around the church building?"   Don't offer an explanation, simply offer your hand.  Do I need to tell you the response you'll receive?   If you are an adult guy asking to lead another adult guy around by holding his hand you might even get threatened, with physical violence, for trying to hold the other guy's hand.   Okay, so it's not a very good idea to ask a grown man to be part of this little experiment.   So instead approach a teenaged guy, saying, "Would you take my hand, walk with me, and allow me to lead you around the church building?"   Make sure you aks the young man in front of a large group of his friends.   If you are an adult male offering a teenaged male your hand to hold, so you can lead him around, you might even earn yourself a beautiful pair of silvery looking bracelets linked together by a little chain, and locked against your will round your wrists, behind your back.   Okay, okay, it's a bad idea to approach a teenager, offer to hold his hand, and to lead him wherever you want to go.

   

So, alright, let's try something completely different...  Approach the mom of a little fellow, and ask if you can take him for a little stroll around the building.  You can even take the stroll around the building in full view of mom and dad, if that helps.   Offer the little tyke your hand, and see if he'll take it.  See if the little guy will walk along with you, allowing you to lead him by the hand.  Having performed this little experiment myself, I know it works.  The little guy will go wherever you want him to go, even if it takes making it into a fun little game the little one isn't hard to convince.  Even Jesus proved this one to the group of people listening to him teach..."Jesus called a little child to him, and placed the child among them."  Matthew 18:2.  How's that for visual aids?   "Hey kid, come here..." 

 

It doesn't take a theological brain trust to figure this one out.  Where Jesus tells us to go, and what Jesus tells us to become isn't something any adult or even teenager would ever do willfully.

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]." 

Matthew 16:24

Only a little child will do and go wherever he/she is made to go.   "Come and do as I say.  Come and do whatever I tell you to do, but know that obedience will kill you."   Yeah, grownups will line up to do what they're told with the understanding they'll die for their obedience...  NOT!!!  Only a little child will do what they are told to do.  Oh, the little child may even go kicking and screaming, but go they will, make no mistake about it.   Children have no choice, but to do what their parent(s) desires for them to do.   The call of Christ is absolutely a call to to a new life, but there can be no doubt, the call of Jesus Christ is to death as well.   Death to our way of being; death to our way of thinking; death to our way of behaving; death to the ways of all the world around us!

 

If you are born again, just as it for a parent and his little child, God will calls us, places us, and you have NO choice.  Is your mind filling with arguments and excuses?   Has a "Screw You!" type of statement jumped into your mind?  Formulating an intelligent, well written, gentle, but definite, "NO!," kind of comment??  

Christ calls you, and Christ will place you, exactly where He desires.   Nothing of Christ's call or placement will be agreeable to us.  Are you a "Jesus R Us" kid??