At the time of the turning of the age from BC to AD, a young person was considered an adult around the age of 13-15. So when Jesus spoke of a child in our text today, He was speaking of an infant or toddler. Jesus said in Matthew 18:4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I remember back to my childhood of a time when I relied on my parents for anything and everything. I completely trusted them. This is the timeframe which Jesus is speaking of in our text. Do you come to God like this? Do you completely trust in Him for anything and everything? Are you living your life with the humility of knowing that apart from your faith in God you will fall flat on your face?
This is what God desires from us. After all, if we have received His gift of salvation through the work of Jesus, then we have been adopted into His family. Then we are children of God.
I can't help but believe that most people are failing at this much like I do. You see shortly after that time of complete trust and faith in my parents, I began to grow. Not just in stature but also in knowledge and maturity. When this started to happen I started to believe that I knew more than they did. I started to think that I could handle it all on my own. I began to trust in myself and in what I was learning with no thought to the realization that I was being taught the ways of the world. With this, I lost respect for them and I became prideful in my ability and all I had learned. I thought I no longer needed a parent. That is until things went wrong and I didn't know what to do. I started seeking help and do you know who was there to help? My parents. I finally realized they didn't know everything but they knew more than I thought and more than I knew. Praise the Lord I also figured out I have a heavenly Father who does know everything. So my life has gone like this: infant/child (totally dependent) to teenager (thought I knew more than others) to adult (realizing I needed help) to finally, surrender to God as a child/infant (total dependency). I now know that I must come to God dependent upon him. Otherwise, I won't go to God. Do you want to be a great example to others for God? Then curl up and be held like a baby on God the Father's lap.
Jesus said, Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The greatest is the one who knows God is the greatest and we are dependent upon Him. Love Bro. Scott