Considering the Little Ones

Last Sunday, we talked about the importance Jesus ascribes to the Little Ones. In Mathew 18:1-14, responding to the question of who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus places a little child before the disciples and tells them that unless they change and become lowly and humble like that child, they cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Like us, the disciples too had their agendas when it came to following Him. Whether it was recognition, survival, significance, power, position – whatever the case maybe, these very same attitudes do tend to slip into our motivations to follow Christ as well. We aren’t immune to a culture that increasingly calls for assertion, grabbing for power, vested interests behind friendly handshakes. It seeps into our daily life as well. As little as our interactions with our spouses where we try to control attitudes and outcomes, our children when we lose our temper and think it’s okay. “Everybody does it. This is the way to survive. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of it on the side.” and on and on the mantra goes.

Is it okay for us to do things like everyone else once we are followers of Christ in the Kingdom of God? We are called in a sense to mirror God’s Kingdom to the world. But we often tend to mirror the world to the world. Lose your temper? I’ve got one too. Verbal abuse? I’ve got some good ones in my reservoir as well. Want me to scratch your back? Scratch mine first. I’ve done that. Instead of showing grace and being generous, I’ve reminded the “little ones” of my generosity. I’ve also ignored the “little ones” – the not so significant, the ones without a voice, the dependent ones.

This, Jesus says, is an attitude that we need to repent of. “Unless you change”, Jesus reminds his disciples. It calls for a change of mind, a conversion of the heart. Where we see it for what it is – incompatible with God’s Kingdom. In God’s Kingdom, everyone matters – irrespective of colour, creed, gender or economic position. Everyone is worthy of pursuing, of loving, of knowing and being cared for. And as his followers, we are called to consider the little ones. Consider the humility and genuineness of children and mirror that to the world because that’s what God is like, that’s what His Kingdom is like.

#children #jusitice #poor #jesus #humility