June-July 1999 The Sabbath Sentinel

UNLESS YOU CHANGE . . .

by Royce Mitchell, Jr.

What is the lesson that Christ was trying to teach us about ourselves when He took up a little child in his arms and proclaimed that the disciples needed to become like the child? Was Christ trying to proclaim a message to us? If so, what could that message have been? Perhaps a look into the scripture in question would be a good place to discover an answer!

In Matthew 18, the disciples had come to Christ with a question that had bothered them on more than one occasion. It was, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" On more than one occasion, one or more of the disciples had been concerned about position. But on this occasion, Christ called a "little child" to Him, and used that child to demonstrate an important principle to them. What was that principle?Matt 18:3-5 states, "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, youwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." (NIV, emphasis mine throughout).

Christ had placed the importance of becoming like a child in context with the question of greatness! Further, He had made the startling statement that unless one becomes like a child, that they would never enter the kingdom! Finally, Christ equated the humility of a child with the answer to the disciples question of who would be greatest! These are eye-opening statements indeed, especially in light of the warnings of being left out of the kingdom.

So, it would behoove us to find out exactly what Christ was trying to teach us with that example. What is it about a child that God finds so endearing? Being concerned about having lived a life in conformance to the law of God, and then not being found with the childlike qualities that Christ demanded we exhibit, I wondered how I could ever understand what I needed to do! Then, it happened, I became a grandfather, for the second time! But, this grandbaby I was to see frequently, and was able to observe, and learn from her!

Her name is Felicity, and she has been an education. As I have been privileged to watch her grow up, and now also two younger sisters, Elayne, and Emily, the lessons have been driven home clearly. So, what are the lessons that we can learn from little children? It is my hope that I can clearly illustrate the answers to that question in this article.

Obviously, the first quality was referred to by Christ Himself. That quality is, humility. Some will say that pride is a part of the make up of a child. To that I say, "Yes!" but in what form? When is a little child the proudest? It is when they have humbled themselves to please their parent! They have pride, but in a humble kind of way! It was this dichotomy that Christ was attempting to illustrate to the disciples, and by extension, to us.

There are many warnings to avoid pride in scripture, yet here Christ pointed out how being like a child, and the pride that comes from pleasing God was a thing to be sought!

When we stop to consider it, when are we happiest? When we are pleasing God, of course! There is a joy that comes from knowing that we are doing that which is pleasing in the sight of God, our Father. For too many years the Churches of God have focused on the fact that we can not please the Father without the Spirit. There is no argument with that statement on my part. However, that joy that comes when we can go to the Father and say, "Daddy, I did it!" It comes when we actually resist that overpowering sin for the first time and is that pride that is really humility! We did not seek our own, but the desire of "Daddy."

Beyond that, what other qualities can we find exhibited by children that our God finds acceptable in His sight? By observing my grandchildren I have found other traits that God discusses in His Word as being traits that are pleasing to Him. One of them is trust. Anyone who has children or grandchildren knows that they are very trusting, even to the point that we have to warn them to be careful. As a part of trust, children are very willing to forgive a breach of trust.

I remember when Elayne first started walking, she got in the habit of following me around our house on her visits. On one occasion, she had come up behind me, and when I turned to walk, I knocked her down, bumping her head on the floor. Of course, tears flowed freely on her part. Yet, she willingly allowed me, the one who had been so careless as to not look out for her, to soothe her pains, and calm her. After several minutes of hugging and kissing (and the offer of a cookie), she was all smiles, and back to following me around the house. What an attitude!

Does God want us to be as forgiving, and trusting as that? Let's see what He has to say. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." (Micah 7:18 NIV). That willingness to forgive is a quality of God Himself! No wonder God finds children to be worthy of the example that Christ gave!

There are other qualities that children have that are clearly delineated as profitable for us to adopt. One of them is the attitude of being willing to learn. One of the things that one notices about children, when they spend much time around them, is that they want to know about everything. How many of us have been worried almost to distraction over the constant question of all children, "Why ...?"

Does God find that questioning, searching, longing for understanding to be a good thing? In preparing for this article, I found that there are at least 35 references to studying or learning in God's word. One obvious one is that we should study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). Another is, "Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless; defend the orphan, plead for the widow." Isa 1:17 (NAS). Learn to do good! Little children naturally want to do good, to please their parents! They have not yet learned that there is another way! Indeed, that constant craving for knowledge that is a part of the makeup of little children is also what God wants to see in us.

Another quality, and one that I have found is of great importance to our God is that little children are in awe of their parents. In the eyes of little children, the parents are God! That very attitude is how God desires us to see Him. Notice this verse. Ps 72:18 states, "Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds." (NIV). The implication here is that only God does marvelous deeds, and the only thing He does is marvelous deeds! Should we hold the One in awe who created our marvelous bodies from the dust of the ground? King David did. In Ps 139:14, King David stated, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (NIV). King David was said to be a man after God's own heart! Throughout the psalms we see how much in awe he held our Creator God.

Being able to observe my granddaughters has been an education in the principles that God desires to see in us. He wants to see that we are humbled by His presence in our lives, yet proud to have overcome sin, always acknowledging His power in doing so! In Ps 31:23, David wrote, "O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer." (KJV). There is a Godly pride, and that is in our going to God in joy at having overcome the world, at least for the moment!

Our God also wants to see that we are trusting. That trust is one that encompasses the virtues of mercy toward others, and repentance, seeking mercy, for ourselves. He wants to see that we are eager to learn more about His Way. This is not to say that we are blown about by every wind of doctrine, but instead that we are willing to diligently seek His will through His word, when confronted by such winds. And not only that, but that we are hungry for more of His truth. And finally, He wants to see that we are in awe of Him, that we recognize that His glory is far beyond our understanding. He wants us to see Him as "Daddy!" He wants us to adopt the same attitude toward Him that Christ did, when He said, "Abba, Father," . . . "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Mark 14:36(NIV). That was what Christ was doing when He prayed those words. He was saying, "Daddy, save me from this!" Yet, He was willing to endure whatever it took to move the plan of God to end-game.

These are all attitudes of children which God finds pleasing. They are hard attitudes to adopt as adults. Yet, it is vital to our salvation to adopt them. Christ warned us, unless we do adopt them we will not enter the kingdom of God! It is a vital concept to learn.

How do we adopt those attitudes which have become so foreign to us as adults? That is the subject for another article. As Sabbath keepers, we should understand that our keeping the Sabbath is equated with understanding the milk of God's Word. True enough, even the Sabbath can not be understood without God's intervention in our lives. But, it is the beginning of the understanding of the mysteries of God. We must move on to those things which will make us profitable servants of the Most High God.

If we have not already begun to adopt the attitudes and attributes of a child that are pleasing to God, let us begin. Today is not too late!

Royce Mitchell is a member of the United Church of God, aIA, Houston South Congregation. This issue he is functioning as interim editor of The Sabbath Sentinel. He may be reached with comments at <rmitchel@flash.net> or you may send a letter to the editor in care of TSS. Letters to the editor may also be sent to <biblesabbath@comcast.net>. Comments and inquiries are invited!

TSS

June - July 1999 The Sabbath Sentinel