“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
Jesus was asked a very important question? “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”? This is especially important as it reveals why humility is so important. First, Jesus answers another question. He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” They had not asked Him about entering, but this was in preparation for His answer to their question. A CHANGE of the norm was necessary. It really involved their thinking. I am not sure all that Jesus had in mind about children, but I can think of at least two areas. I have four lovely children. When they were little, we loved to play together. We would sometimes go into the country. One of the boys would climb a hill and yell “catch me, daddy” and immediately jump. It would never cross his mind that I would not catch him. I believe that children really trust adults until they learn differently. They believe and they naturally trust until someone disappoints them.
Then Jesus addressed their question, and He said, “Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child IS the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. For years, I read this verse and understood it this way. Whoever humbles himself as this child will someday be great in my kingdom. But it doesn’t say that. It says that he/she IS great if they humble themselves. That means right NOW. Many young people say, I must wait until I am older to be great in God’s eyes. A wife, taking care of three little toddlers thinks, I can never be great in God’s eyes until my children are older. A young brother thinks, I must get a degree, and learn Theology before I can be great in God’s eyes. That’s why humility is important. One of the character qualities of God is humility. Jesus was humble. Moses was the most humble man on earth.
We will continue this question in the next lesson.