Becoming Like Little Children

Jesus said that unless we become like little children, we will never enter the Kingdom of God

As always, our reading of the text is clouded by our own perception of children, which was very different than the perception of children in the ancient Middle East.  Children were regarded, even until very recent times in Western culture, in a very negative light.  They were, at best, seen as a burden, since they couldn't yet produce anything (i.e. they would work in the fields, but required more food than what their own labor produced).  At worst, they were regarded as sinful and depraved.

Today, when we hear that we must become like "little children," we assume that this means we must become pure, trusting, and joyful, since these are the qualities that we ourselves associate with children.  This association would have been incomprehensible to an ancient audience.

With the ancient perception of children in mind, the meaning of the text is revealed.  In order to be part of God's Kingdom, living under the Lordship of Christ, we must recognize that God chooses to allow us to be part of His Kingdom not through our own merit or through what we ourselves "produce," but solely due to God's infinite grace.  If we think that God is choosing to enter into relationship with us because we meet some standard of righteousness, we miss the very heart of what God's Kingdom is about, and we will never truly see it, and thereby never enter it