EMBRACING A HUMBLE HEART


Matthew 18:4
Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.  WEB
If we want to fully understand why God sees little kids as spectacular in His Kingdom, we need to understand the Godhead’s high value on humility.

When Jesus came to planet earth, He humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant, emptying Himself of all the privileges of being God. (1) And when Jesus said that the greatest in the Kingdom will be servant of all (2), I believe He was ultimately referring to His Father for He also said... My Father is greater than I. (3)

So that is why God finds the beautiful humility of a little child a thing of true Kingdom beauty. Little kids know they are helpless, yet they are comfortable in their own skin. They don’t judge others and they have nothing to offer but love.  They have no ego, pride or adult sized intellect to get in the way of simply living a life of receiving. And they forgive easy, love always and are tenderhearted.

Oftentimes, when we think of humility, we think of a mindset where we give permission to degrade ourselves.
Unfortunately, there are many misrepresentations of humility that are cloaked in religious language but are more a revealing of an inverted pride than the real stuff of biblical humility. Since part of the Great Commandment is to ‘love our neighbour as we love ourself’, (4) self hatred is not real humility but a sin against love itself. True humility is simply agreeing with God’s opinion of us. Sure we are weak and frail, but our fragile jars of clay contain the glory of God. (5)

I believe the humility little children naturally exhibit actually attracts the grace of God. (6) And Jesus invites us to venture into their world too if we are willing to humble ourselves. We don’t have to and God will still love us all the same. But for those of us who are willing to take on the posture of a little toddler and embrace our smallness, there is a Kingdom full of magic and wonder waiting for us.

If something inside of you struggles to identify with being childlike, I would encourage you to ask God to show you any roadblocks that may prevent you from becoming little again. If you are unwilling to humble yourself, ask the Father what to do about that. I’m sure He will help you overcome any misconceptions you might have.

After all, He loves you and He wants you to be free from any form of false humility or pride that would prevent you from enjoying the waterfall of His grace that He loves to lavish on His kids. (7)
(1) Philippians 2:5-8; (2) Matthew 23:11; (3) John 14:28; (4) Mark 12:31; (5) 2 Corinthians 4:7;  (6) James 4:6; (7) 1 John 3:1.