This is another installment of what Jesus says 
the kingdom of heaven is like....
The next several posts will be turning to what
Jesus said about how we are to BE (live) in the kingdom of Heaven......
They will be kind of like the guidelines to being
an ActiveRain© member.....
It will be kind of like a dos and don'ts list! Good things to do...and things NOT to do...I will add
other scripture references as it is fitting to add emphasis to each principle given..
Well, here we go..... first -- Jesus' quote from Mathew 18:1-3
- At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Why does Jesus and the Lord God want children and not adults to enter into the Kingdom?
Lets contrast adults and children for a minute and see if you are not nodding your head
along with me on these observations of mine:
- First of all, adults have learned things through the years and are hard to teach
because they have all these pre-conceived notions about what is the right thing
to do in any given situation. - Adults are not particularly dependant... they like to be self sufficient and able
to do things on their own. - Adults have a circle of people they look to for satisfaction, guidance, insight
and instruction. Those people might NOT be the best examples of what God
and Jesus want to their disciples to see and imitate. Little children don't have
anyone except mommy and daddy. All the teaching comes directly from THEM.
Lets look at children now and what they are like (I am talking about LITTLE kids --
4 years of age and lower):
- Children are totally dependent on mom and dad for food, clothing, shelter
and safety....the way God wants us to be. - Children are a dry, waiting sponge to learn.... taking in not only what mom and
dad say, BUT the example of what they do and how they live also. GOD and
Jesus want to have that place in our lives. It is THEE safest place for them to
be for us; we will learn the best of what life has to offer when we let God and
Jesus be our mom and dad. - Children are trusting..... no explanation needed here.
- Children are sincere......
- Children are loving.......
- Children are sensitive..... they not only hear what is said to them, but HOW it is said....
They also see if what is done matches up to what they were told. THAT is sensitivity....
Can you see why in the beginning of our relationship with them,
God and Jesus want us to be like little children in the kingdom
of Heaven?
What better way to give the best to their disciples???!!!???
How much easier it is for THEM to teach us....... when we are:
- Dependant on them
- Teachable like a sponge
- Trusting for what they say is the truth and is best for us
- Sincere in our expression of our lives and our hearts
- Loving in our response to their love toward us
- Sensitive... not only listening to what is said to us by them,
BUT how is is said...and looking for what happens when we
obey.... does it match up with what is said in the bible?
Here are some supporting verses to emphasize what is being said here...I
have included the links for them, so you can read them in context and not
just take my word fo what is being said here.
Mark 10:14But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them;
for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. John 1:11-13He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Ephesians 5:1[ Be Imitators of God ] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children Philippians 2:14-16
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
- 1 John 3:10
By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
There are so MANY rewards for doing what
God wants (living the right way, loving people
His way, etc...) I cannot list them ALL here...
Lets ALL think on what this post does in
our hearts..... I KNOW I have taken my
time with it, in light of what I am going
through personally (It took the better part
of two days to write this post, usually it
only takes about 1-2 hours).
If you are where you need to be, may God CONTINUE to bless you!!
If some of this post convicts you, PLEASE do what you need to....... God WANTS to bless all His children!
Get things right....
If any of this post speaks to you, and you do not have
a biblical relationship with our Creator through Jesus the
Messiah, CALL me and we can talk....
Here are the archives of this series:
This wonderful teaching of Jesus the Messiah
about the Kingdom of Heaven is brought to you by:
Alexander Harb -- Founder of, "Christianity and Real Estate"
Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.
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