Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
2006-09-05 23:15:49 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Jesus answered with a living object lesson. Placing a little child in their midst, He said that men must be converted and become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. He was speaking of the kingdom in its inward reality; in order to be a genuine believer a man must abandon thoughts of personal greatness and take the lowly position of a little child. This begins when he acknowledges his sinfulness and unworthiness and receives Jesus Christ as his only hope. This attitude should continue throughout his Christian life. Jesus was not implying that His disciples were not saved. All except Judas had true faith in Him, and were therefore justified. But they had not yet received the Holy Spirit as an indwelling Person, and therefore lacked the power for true humility that we have today (but do not use as we should). Also they needed to be converted in the sense of having all their false thinking changed to conform to the kingdom
2006-09-06 00:50:42 · answer #1 · answered by N3WJL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus had to teach his disciples about humility on a number of occasions, each time presenting the same basic point from a different angle so that it would sink in, which it eventually did.
Matthew 18:1-4; 23:11, 12;
Luke 14:7-11;
John 13:5, 12-17.
2006-09-06 06:22:44 · answer #2 · answered by rangedog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Become like children: the child is held up as a model for the disciples not because of any supposed innocence of children but because of their complete dependence on, and trust in, their parents. So must the disciples be, in respect to God.
2006-09-06 06:30:08 · answer #3 · answered by LAdy_psychology 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I means you must humble yourself as little children, because little children are more alert to the Word. So if you want to receive you must open your heart like a child (I'm not saying you must be child) because kids heartr are more open.
2006-09-06 06:26:25 · answer #4 · answered by Noname 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is there to explain? In order to go into heaven we must have a pure and clean heart like a child, no arrogance, no twisted thoughts, none of the things we have as grown ups.
2006-09-06 06:19:25 · answer #5 · answered by cpinatsi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That verse is the explanation that Jesus gave to the question in the first verse, who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. I don't find it very tough to understand, just compare a child and their way of life to adults and see their simplicity of thought. They don't worry about anything, they just trust their parents to feed them, care for them, provide their needs, protect them and life is just carefree and and enjoyable. That is how God wants us to respond to Him as our Father.
2006-09-06 06:28:36 · answer #6 · answered by oldguy63 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The context is illustrative. The disciples were arguing before this about who is the greatest. Jesus says this in answer to that.
2006-09-06 07:48:13 · answer #7 · answered by Buzz s 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
to be like a little child in the Kingdom of God is to have a trusting spirit, faith, and love
2006-09-06 06:19:52 · answer #8 · answered by atreadia 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We must have a child-like dependence. We must have humility for only the pure in heart shall see God.
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2006-09-06 06:22:43 · answer #9 · answered by Pashur 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
being able to completely believe in something, to have blind faith in something that will never actually proven requires some degree of naivety. jesus pretty much asked everyone to have the innocence and naivety of a child, in order to open their minds towards faith.
2006-09-06 06:18:36 · answer #10 · answered by ilya 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋