Matthew 18:2-4
And Jesus having summoned a young child, He set him in the middle of them and said, “Positively, I say to you*, unless you* are turned around [fig., changed inwardly] and become like such young children, by no means shall you* enter into the kingdom of the heavens. “Therefore, whoever will humble himself like this young child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.
Unless you turn around and become like a little child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. What does that mean? Well the next verse says, ‘whoever humbles himself as a little child.’ The only way you can be saved is by humbling yourself as a little child..
Little children know that they can’t do it themselves. When we get older we tend to be more self sufficient and sometimes don’t think we need help from others. Some people become so proud that they will refuse to ask for help, even when they know they need it!
When it comes to salvation, many believe they don’t need it, or if they know they need it, they are too proud to admit it. They like to think they can handle everything for themselves.
Being saved requires us to admit that we are helpless without God. We are lost without him and bound for hell. Only He can save us. Nothing we can do can save us.
This is one reason rich people have a hard time entering into the kingdom of heaven. They are used to depending on their vast wealth. They don’t have to rely on other people and can become proud. And their pride runs over into the spiritual arena and prevent them from being saved.
But we must humble ourselves to be great. Who is great? The person who is great is the one who has trained himself to completely rely on an unseen God and His Word. He relys on God and God alone for all that he needs. This is salvation. Glory to God!
Hal Chaffee 