长大后变成小孩子的样式

“‘我实在告诉你们，你们若不回转，变成小孩子的样式，断不得进天国。’” - 太 18:3

耶稣说我们需要“变成小孩子的样式”，是什么意思呢？我们看到一个线索，就是耶稣当时是在回应一个问题：“天国里谁是最大的？”；衪这样回答说：“凡自己谦卑像这小孩子的，他在天国里就是最大的。”

在记载耶稣和门徒的事迹的书卷中（马太、马可、路加、和约翰福音），我们看到门徒时常都在争论他们当中谁最伟大；他们似乎是相当好胜逞强的一群人，他们乃是按他们的领导才能、知识、能力、影响力、和其他各方面优势，来衡量谁最伟大。

因此，耶稣在这里告诉祂的门徒，他们需要改变他们对伟大的看法，他们需要像小孩子那样恭顺和谦卑。跟从耶稣的人需要治死他们自私的野心，并且明白我们是完全倚靠神来供应我们当下和未来一切所需来生活的，就像小孩子倚靠他们的父母和他们的监护人那样。

以下是另一个人的看法。一个六十多岁的男士这样说：“上星期我四岁的孙儿说，他长大后要做一个消防员。”我回答说：“长大后我希望做一个四岁的男孩子。”我的孙儿听了，便瞪大眼睛、以好奇的目光凝视着我。

你最近有没有瞪大眼睛、以好奇的目光环顾神的世界呢？当我听到耶稣的呼召去改变成为小孩子的样式时，我渴望我能够做得到。

主啊，在我们尝试天天为你而活时，求你赐我们小孩子的谦卑和好奇的心。阿们。

1当时，门徒进前来，问耶稣说：“天国里谁是最大的？”
2耶稣便叫一个小孩子来，使他站在他们当中，
3说：“我实在告诉你们：你们若不回转，变成小孩子的样式，断不得进天国。
4所以，凡自己谦卑像这小孩子的，他在天国里就是最大的。
5凡为我的名接待一个像这小孩子的，就是接待我。

Growing Up To Become A Child

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 18:3

英语音频 English Audio

What does Jesus mean by saying we need to “change and become like little children”? One clue we have here is that Jesus is responding to the question “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And he replies, “Whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

In the books about Jesus and his disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we find that the disciples often argued over which of them was greatest; they seem to have been a competitive group. And they were thinking of greatness in terms of leadership, knowledge, power, influence, and other things.

So Jesus is telling his disciples that they need to change their attitudes about greatness and become lowly and humble like little children. Jesus’ followers need to die to their selfish ambitions and realize that, just as little children depend on parents and caregivers, we are all totally dependent on God for all our needs and future living.

Here’s another thought. A man in his sixties said, “Last week my four-year-old grandson said he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up. I replied, ‘And when I grow up, I want to be a four-year-old boy.’ My grandson stared at me with wide, wondering eyes.”

Have you looked around at God’s world with “wide, wondering eyes” lately? That’s something I long for when I hear the call to change and become like a little child.

Prayer

Lord, please give us the humility and wonder of a child as we seek to live for you each day. Amen.