August 2024

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’  He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me’” (Matthew 18:1-5).

As a parent with school-age children in the house, August is always a significant month on my family’s calendar.  August, to me, marks the end of summer because vacations are mostly over or are ending, everybody’s heading back to work, school’s getting back into session, lunches must be packed, homework must be done; it is a month that signals that the “freeness” of summer is over and we are back to our daily routine.  But, more than that, looking at my kids and all that they are doing as they start a new year of school reminds me of what it was like when I was a child and attending school.  I remember the first few weeks of every year and how excited I was to meet my new teachers, see my friends again, and just generally be back in a routine that I was comfortable with.

And, as I am reflecting upon my childhood memories, I can’t help but be drawn to this passage from Matthew where Jesus tells His disciples that they must be like little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.  But, what does that mean?  What is Jesus telling us that we need to do?  He means that we are to be like little children in their humility and their lack of concern for their social status.  You see, in the culture into which Jesus was teaching, children were seen more as property than they were as valuable members of society; they will grow to be that one day, sure, but they are not there yet.  Children in Jewish society were of no importance, subject completely and totally to the authority of their elders.  Jesus knew then, and he knows now, that it is not in our nature to humble ourselves and take a low place among our peers; we will not easily take an inferior position.

But, Jesus calls us to take such a position nonetheless because He Himself took such a position.  When He held up the little child in this passage as an example, He did so in response to the disciples' question about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Well, we all know the answer to that question is Jesus Himself, He is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; yet, when He came to this earth, He did so as a lowly carpenter, and His ministry was defined by the way that He served others.  He wasn’t concerned about His own status or how other people perceived Him, He only cared about getting to the work of advancing His Father’s kingdom on earth.

As summer winds to a close, and we all get back to the daily routines of life, whether we are in school, working, or retired, let’s all do our best to remember that Jesus calls us to be humble like children, to lower ourselves to a position of humility, graciousness, and servitude.  It too often seems in the 21st century that we are defined by how much we accomplish, how much we stand out from the crowd; we are defined by promotions we receive at work, the amount of money we make, the cars that we drive, the size of the house we live in, etc.  We are very rarely defined by what we do for others and how we serve the people of our communities.

My prayer for Franklin Presbyterian Church as we head into the fall is that we will all be like little children.  That we will be defined by the fact that we are people who care about and serve our community, not for our own sake but for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Let us remember that, in all that we do, we are to be humble and gracious because our Savior was humble and gracious when He walked this earth.  Let us not get caught up in the “rat-race” of life, but focus on how we can better serve others and how God can use our servitude as an instrument to lead people into a saving relationship with Him through Jesus.  We can have no higher calling than the calling to be lowly.

May the blessings of the Father and the peace of the Son be with you,

Pastor Keith