WHO IS THE GREATEST?

There was a time in a discussion; a girl described me as a great man of God. She took away the great from God and gave it to the man. I responded that I am not a great man of God, but a servant of the great God.

Whenever greatness is mentioned, many people often think it is about having money, popularity, cars, fashion, or intelligence. All these have their connection to greatness, but they don’t ultimately define it. Greatness does not mean being the boss, wealthy or the most popular. Many people see kings, presidents, inventors, musicians, sport people and conquerors as great. In a company, the boss is often seen by his employees as great. A general in the military is also referred to as great. Their positions attract services from different people.

Jesus’ disciples came and asked Him about the greatest in the kingdom of God. Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2-4 NIV). Note that the word whoever is an open invitation. You and I are qualified. The condition is for us to humble ourselves like a child. This may sound easy, but it is a tough task.

What is so special about a child? Since Jesus referred his disciples to a child, it therefore means it is necessary for us to study a child’s behaviour and learn from it. A few of a child’s attributes are:

Hopeful- Whether Daddy and Mummy have money for food or not a child believes there will be breakfast, lunch and dinner in the house.

A child easily forgives- A story is told of a child who was injured by his friend in the course of a play. Angered by that, the father took his injured son on his shoulder to report to the police. The injured son told his friend to wait for him because on their return with his father they will continue with their play. How do you think the father would feel? If you discipline your son or daughter and go out of the house and return after some minutes, he or she will still relate to you as if nothing had happen.

A child easily cooperates- There was a time a child visited us. He did not like eating beans. My father had explained to him that he did not have money. The child should eat anything he was given. He did as he was requested. Afterward, he saw someone giving my father some money. The child refused to eat beans later. When he was asked why, he responded that he had earlier eaten because there was no money in the house, but he had seen someone giving money to my father. The child was flexible to change depending on the condition.

A child is frank- Ask a child to lie on your behalf and see what happens. If you are lucky he may go with you the first step, but in the end he will say his or her mind not minding who is involved. There is no cover up with a child.

A Learner- A child is curious. He asks many questions to learn. He has a receptive spirit.
A child is humble- Observe children carefully and see.

They are sensitive and observant- You may do something around a child and think he does not know or understand. He or she probably understands more than you think, but sometimes lack the courage for expression.

(Excerpts from the , titled, THE MEANINGFUL LIFE, by Pusonnam Yiri).