September 1, 2020

Today we find hope in the book of Matthew chapter 18.

After being asked who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus brought a child before them and explained that to be great you must become as a child. In the same passage, He tells us that we should become humble as children and accept children in His name. Now, I am not sure He is speaking of children in the literal sense. Could He possibly be speaking about being children in the sense of being born again? As a born-again believer, we are new in our Spiritual walk. We are humble before the Lord because we know what He has done for us. As we grow in our walk, we must be able to accept those who are new in their walk so they may learn to follow Christ.

As we read on, we find that Jesus is telling us that we must be cautious about offending the child. When you think about it in terms of a new believer, we see that offending a new believer would be detrimental to their walk with Christ and we would become a stumbling block. We definitely do not want to cause a new believer to stumble and fall away from their Christian walk.

This passage tells us that greatness is not only about doing the work of the Kingdom but more importantly, it is through the humility of how we serve Jesus and those around us. To love and walk as a child means that we love as they do, with a pure and trusting heart. We don’t need to love others because of what they can do for us, but rather because Jesus loves them more. As a new believer trusts those who are leading them, they can be easily led astray.

LadyBug, you should know that just as the little child is loved, you are loved much more than you can fathom. He will always be your defender and protector. He sees who comes against you in their heart. We must also know that as we forgive, we are forgiven.

Let us become pure in trust, humble in our actions, and loving toward others.

~Cyndi Kay

Matthew 18:1-7