Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Nahum 1-3
     New Testament Reading: Matthew 18

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a small child and had him stand among them (Matthew 18:1-2).

Which one of us is the greatest? Who would be the most important people in God’s Kingdom? This was a repeated topic of discussion among the disciples and is mentioned often in the Gospels. At one point, Jesus’ cousins, James and John, asked to sit at His right and left hand in the coming kingdom. No doubt thinking their family ties would give them an added advantage. Even at the Last Supper, after Jesus served the first communion, a dispute arose among the disciples who was the greatest!

The disciples understood Jesus as the Messiah, but they struggled to wait for Him to sit on His throne. They lived under Roman domination and as outcasts among their own people because they followed Him. Longing for their reward for sacrificing so much to follow Jesus, the disciples hoped for grand status in the coming kingdom.

The fact that Jesus had been sharing with the disciples the truth about His coming suffering and death did not affect them. They were thinking only of themselves and what position they would have in His kingdom. The disciples waited breathlessly for Jesus to name the greatest man among them. Jesus rebuked them for their pride and desire for worldly greatness and called a little child into their midst. This child was an example of true greatness. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (v4).

The child was the example of humility that Christ expected. Children don’t care about status, titles, wealth, or greatness. An unspoiled child has the characteristics that make for humility: trust, dependence, the desire to make others happy, the absence of boasting, and the selfish desire to be greater than others.

Genuine humility means knowing yourself, accepting yourself, and being your best self, all for the glory of God. It means avoiding two extremes; thinking less of yourself than you ought to think, or thinking more of yourself than you ought to think. The truly humble person does not deny the gifts God has given him, but uses them to the glory of God.

Genuine humility thinks of others, not of themselves. The truly humble person helps to build up others, not to tear them down. They are a stepping stone, not a stumbling block.

True greatness in the eyes of God is found in humility and childlike dependence on Him. In our walk with God, have we moved from childishness, demanding instant gratification, to childlike humility, trusting God’s will and timing?