12-21-07 Matthew 18:3, 4

Matthew 18:3, 4 (NAS)
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"...and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:3, 4 (NLT)
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Which of us is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"...Then he said, "I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Because you are made in the image of God, you have the supernatural desire to be great; it is built into you. However, often your flesh is out to gratify itself and its motivation is to be greater than, stronger than, or better than someone else. Of course, the desire to be important is also something built in to you by your Heavenly Father, but you need to receive that importance through your relationship with Him.

Jesus showed you the way to become great. He said that you must change your mind and your course of conduct, becoming as a young child. A young child is totally dependent on its father to take care of Him. You, therefore, must place yourself in a position of total dependence on Adonai. Only in this way will you truly become great. and only in this way will you be able to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

You, therefore, should have a modest, humble, and abased opinion of yourself. You should see yourself as ranked below others, giving them honor. By doing this, you will become great, important, and highly esteemed in the Kingdom of Heaven.