Become Like Little Children
Mark 10:13-16 (NRSV) “People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.”
These words of Jesus are a humbling reminder that all of God’s gifts work through us as we freely receive His grace. They are not by our own power or godliness (Acts 3:12). I think that one of the greatest hindrances to us exercising spiritual gifts is when we are trying to attain a certain level of spirituality in order to get God’s power in our lives. Then the Holy Spirit does a work of humbling us and teaching us to become like little children and freely receive His grace.
Galatians 3:5 (NRSV) “Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?”
Randy Clark shared that when the move of God began at his church, the first person who God began to use in power was one of the last people that anyone would expect. People expected the godly deacon who read his Bible and lived an exemplary life to be the first to receive God’s empowerment in such a way. By beginning to display His glory through a person who didn’t seem very eligible, God was doing a work of humbling the church and teaching them about His grace.
The following story is a short excerpt from my book The Power-and-Love Sandwich. It’s a great illustration of Jesus’s teaching about the need to become like little children.
The Little Peruvian Boy
I remember a time when I was invited to preach at a small Peruvian Pentecostal church in New York City. New York City is an amazing place! Whole neighborhoods are nearly all one ethnicity. This was a Peruvian neighborhood.
When I finishing preaching, I saw that one of the pastors sitting on the front row was weeping profusely. He got up and told us what happened.
As I preached, this pastor was suffering from a horrible migraine headache. In the middle of the message, a little boy who was about five years old walked up to him and put his hands on his head. He felt heat pouring into his head, and the pain melted away. The pastor was not only healed but God’s love also touched him deeply that day!
All of us were humbled and were in awe of the Lord. There was no natural way for this little child to have known that the pastor was suffering a migraine. Why did he put his hands on the pastor’s head? The Holy Spirit worked the gift of the word of knowledge through one of the smallest children there that day in order to heal the pastor. Nobody had encouraged the child to do anything.
Do you want to experience God’s power working through you? I pray that you would become as simple as this little boy and freely receive God’s grace then give it away!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on gotoheavennow.com
Featured Image by Robert Collins
