Scripture
“I tell you the truth, anyone who does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
Observation
Jesus turns all of our ideas about relationships on their heads.
Divorce had become a “Get out of jail free” card. Some of the rabbis taught that burning dinner was grounds for divorce. Jesus says that divorce is a concession to the hard-heartedness of people. Clearly God's plan is for marriage to be a life-long commitment of a man to a woman.
While the religious tend to ignore children as being inconvenient and a distraction, Jesus points to them as a sign of the Kingdom. It might be open to interpretation as to what He meant when He said that we must receive the Kingdom as little children. At the very least it should mean that we come with a recognition of our dependence on God. We can only enter the Kingdom in humility.
Application
Marriage is the litmus test for all relationships. The way I treat my wife is the way I treat all people in my heart.
To work at loving my wife is to work at learning to love all people unconditionally.
Similarly my attitude to children, and other people of little “importance”, betrays my attitude towards God. Humility must be a characteristic of all my relationships with others.
Prayer
Father please help me to be like Jesus in all of my relationships today. Let me lave others as you love them. Amen.
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