Matthew 18:2-4 New King James Version
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I have always wondered about this passage in the scriptures. Just what did Jesus mean when he taught this. I have learned that much of what Jesus taught had underlying truths that are beyond the obvious. It takes the “asking”, “seeking” and “knocking” that He taught was necessary to get at the full depth of His teaching. So, I have deliberated and prayed in seeking to better understand what the not so obvious meaning of this teaching in Matthew 18.
When people reach a stage in life when they lose their fear of “what others will think” they share their spiritual experiences. These are most often from early childhood when “adult reality” has not yet restricted and limited their vision. As I was reading Dr. Eben Alexander’s book “The Map of Heaven” I realized the proof of this reality from my own personal experience. Alexander’s book references the fact that people who have shared their early spiritual experiences go back many decades – six or seven decades – into early childhood. These memories were “as fresh as if they’d occurred just a few days before”. Young children feel very comfortable with spiritual experiences because they haven’t felt the expectations forced upon them by “adult thinking”. Young children are comfortable with spiritual experiences because it does not threaten their acceptance. Once adult reality sets in, this is no longer the case.
An event in my life that took place when I had just turned four years old. My Aunt Frieda suddenly died. My parents, probably realizing that she was so special to because of all the adventures she took me on, make a bold and courageous decision. Against all social rules of the time and place, they took me to the wake. When I was about 65 while driving alone with the radio off, I journeyed back in time and one of my life’s turning points surfaced in vivid color. I was once again walking hand in hand with my father into the funeral home. I was overwhelmed by the massive wall of flowers that seemed to go to the ceiling. The fragrances consumed the air in the room. My father lifted me up and as I peered into the open casket, I saw my Aunt Frieda lying serenely in a deep peace that embraced my being. From that moment, death for me was a passage into an authentic and profound place of indescribable peace. As a child, I didn’t have the ability to share the profound effect this experience had on my mind. But finally, as an adult, I have the experience and vocabulary to at least express the long-encapsulated feelings harbored deep in my memory for six decades. (NOTE: The full story of my relationship with Aunt Frieda is posted JUNE 2015 in my blog (www.lifeturningpoints.org ) [https://www.lifeturningpoints.org/?s=Aunt+Frieda]
Once attending a seminar, the facilitator expressed his love for talking and working with children. He saw them as “free” thinking and with an unfettered imagination. “I could talk about purple and orange washing machines without one of them saying, ‘NO! they are white!’” he said.
Stop and think of a profound spiritual experience from your childhood that you never told anyone about because you feared their reaction. Now as an adult, how would you describe it?
I suggest that what Jesus alluded to with His pronouncement in Matthew 18 was that we need to escape the limiting restraints of the natural and enter the glory of the spiritual. Children can do that because they are still free to soar into the spiritual without fear. Their humble nature keeps an open heart and mind for the spiritual.
Paul was also alluded to this in Romans 12. It is necessary to escape the “comfort” or “arrogance” of accepted adult thinking and be renewed back to childhood freedom to be dependent. The adult perspective is “I know it all!” and I don’t need God or anything or anyone else, I can do it myself. The child is the epitome of “I need you!” Jesus per chance was alluding to recognizing our dependance on Him to enter His kingdom.
Romans 12:2-3 NKJV
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The prophet Isaiah points out in no uncertain terms that our “unrenewed” mind produces thoughts and ways lower and inconsistent the Lord’s. There is the truth of our dependence on Him for gaining kingdom’s entrance.
Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
But there is a way to regain that childhood vision of the spiritual along with the natural world. Jesus gave an answer recorded in Matthew 7.
Matthew 7:7 NKJV Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
With a new understanding that we as adults can still possess a truly spiritual connection with the Divine, we need to pursue it with deliberate ASKING, SEEKING and KNOCKING. Silent meditation without the noise of the world around us and sincere prayers will open us up to the Holy Spirit when He visits us with revelations.
Our soul is our spiritual being that was known to the Lord before we were born as attested by Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV
5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; Before you were born, I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
To gain the fullness of our spirituality it is necessary to escape the confines of the material world. God will do this for us if we ask. Paul gave us encouragement to do this in Romans 12.
Romans 12:2-3 NKJV
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
The journey to rediscover our spirituality lost when childhood graduated into adult limited thinking and speaking requires faith. And not just any faith. It requires an authentic and profound trust in the Lord. (See my book Solomon’s Recipe for details on this reality.) Faith provides evidence of our spirituality so powerful that it convinces the most vehement skeptic. The writer of Hebrews puts this truth most succinctly.
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV By Faith We Understand
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Remaining without cognizance of our spirituality dooms us to see only the material world. We see so little really when we leave out the spiritual. Paul made a great observation in his letter to the Corinthians. As you read the three translations of his words, embrace the nuances of each. See how you might take advantage of the subtleties as the words affect your feelings and thoughts.
1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Our vision is limited because we are bound to the material world. It takes faith and a connection with the Holy Spirit to escape the material world and get a God revealed glimpse into the spiritual world’s reality.
1 Corinthians 13:12 New Living Translation
12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message
12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
Wisdom is to see that our vision is handicapped by our insistence that we are independent and individually capable of navigating life. The following scripture seeks to put us in our rightful place.
John 8:23-24 NKJV
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:23-24 The Message
23-24 Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You’re at a dead end. If you won’t believe I am who I say I am, you’re at the dead end of sins. You’re missing God in your lives.”
Take some time re-reading John 8:23-24 and maybe explore other translations to enhance your study. You may be surprised by what the Holy Spirit reveals to your renewed open mind and heart.
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TURNING POINTS
It was for me a fascinating turning point when driving and thinking in a spiritual retrospect. To consider my childhood experiences from a different perspective opened new insight.