Clay in the Hands

As I said yesterday in my post about Father’s Day, my sons have moved me and inspired me.  Case in point, Ethan is reading through the Gospel of Matthew.  I decided last night I would begin to read through it as well so that he and I can have discussions about what we find there.

So this morning, I read the first 8 verses of Matthew 18 as part of my prayerful reading time (or Lectio Divina).  As I meditated on the passage, I was overwhelmed with the idea that I will never see God’s kingdom unless I change by humbling myself and become like a little child.

In the context of the passage, the disciples are looking for a little boost to their egos.  Basically, they want to know who is the greatest in Jesus’ eyes.  In other words, they ask Jesus, “Who is more important to you?  Would it be us – your dedicated followers – or one of those other people – the . . .?”  Fill in the blank.

As Jesus always does, he cut right to the heart of the question – the intent behind it.  He took this opportunity to teach them, and us, that the true greats in the kingdom are humble servants.  They are content to simply serve God and not worry about who is the most important.  He illustrated his point by focusing their attention on a child.  A child is innocent and humble – not tainted by worldly pursuits.  A child is content to be loved and to love.

You see, humility has a sister and her name is contentment.

If we are to truly be the people God called us to be and to be great for God’s sake, we must start with realizing who we are in relation to who God is and that leads to humility.  Rather than worrying about making a name for ourselves, we need to be content to strive to make God’s name great.

How will you become like a child today?