Unless you become as one of these

Matthew 18:1-5

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 

Of course, nowadays we never compete with one another to be "greatest", right?  No, not in the church of the 21st century.   We never poise ourselves on the platform of our certainty and elevate ourselves with our statements of what this or that means -- what is bedrock certainty and what is windblown sand, which vacillates and changes. No, not us!

So what happens when we come to Christ with our decisions and our plans with even the slightest shimmer of competition or judgment, asking "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (We wouldn't even be asking that question if we didn't have some hope that we were in the right grouping -- with the "greatest"!)  How does that attitude block us from receiving Christ?

The image of the humble, wide-eyed, innocent, and yes, vulnerable, child is given as the answer to that question:

There is a softness of countenance and a wide-eyed curiosity that shows total trust, total hope that one is safe even though vulnerable, precious though small and in many ways weaker than others.

Sometimes we step into new surroundings with our strength of intellect or personal achievement in the foreground.  It isn't until we determine that we are in safe space that we allow our uncertainty or wavering of stamina to surface.

Still, in many cases we would prefer that we be recognized first for our wisdom -- for what we do well -- rather than for our childlike dependence upon others.  

It's not about being naive or immature, for we are called to offer to others the "greatness" that is possible through Christ.  If we are to function as leaders for those who will come after us, we need to exercise the understanding and wisdom we have learned (often through the challenges and/or failures of our past).

It IS about realizing that our strengths and certainty may often need to recede into the lap of unknowingness (ie, I could be wrong).  In that moment, our countenance softens, our eyes open with wonder and hope, and our hands surrender, no longer in an attitude of self defense.

When we welcome those childlike qualities within ourselves or in others, we are welcoming Christ.  Then we can actually pay full, awe-filled attention to the Lord of our Life, in whose Kingdom we dwell.   And then, informed, formed, suppported and guided by God, we are cross the threshold into greatness.

This movement toward innocence needs to be dynamic, perpetual motion.  The moment we think of ourselves as "great" we are called to the humility, vulnerability and wonder of a child.  Some call it "beginner's mind", others call it "softness of heart" -- Jesus calls it "childlike".