Pastor Andy preached on humility this Sunday. He used the chapter from Matthew 18 and titled his sermon “Greatness in the Kingdom”. Pastor Andy joked that this was the first VBS. When Jesus called a little child and placed him in the middle of the disciples, he wasn’t offering a sweet illustration he was issuing a holy confrontation. Matthew tells us, “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’”-Matthew 18:2–4. In that moment, Jesus overturned every worldly idea of greatness. The disciples had been arguing about status, position, and spiritual rank. Their hearts were full of ambition, comparison, and self‑importance. But Jesus answered their pride not with a lecture, but with a living picture a child, small, unnoticed, dependent, and without status. This child became the sermon. And Jesus’ message was unmistakable: the way up in the kingdom is always down.

The first truth Jesus teaches is that humility is the doorway into the kingdom. You cannot enter God’s family standing tall in your own strength. You must come low, like a child needy, dependent, and aware of your inability to save yourself. Jesus says, “Unless you turn…”  unless you repent, unless you abandon pride and self‑sufficiency, “you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Salvation begins with a turning, a decisive break from the illusion that you can manage life on your own. It is the Spirit‑filled humility described in James 4:6 “God gives grace to the humble”. The proud receive nothing. The childlike receive everything.

This childlikeness also shapes how we treat one another. Matthew 18 is not only about entering the kingdom; it is about living inside it. Jesus teaches that believers must receive one another, protect one another, restore one another, and forgive one another, all as God’s children. Humility becomes the foundation for every relationship in the church. Without humility, we compete, compare, and wound. With humility, we care, serve, and heal. Jesus’ entire chapter flows from this one posture: humility leads to receiving the weak (vv. 5–9), seeking the wandering (vs. 10–14), restoring the straying (vv. 15–20), and forgiving the offending (vv. 21–35). Everything begins with becoming small.

Childlikeness also means dependence. Children rely on their parents for everything food, protection, guidance, comfort. In the same way, believers rely on their Father for every breath of spiritual life. Jesus calls us to abandon the myth of self‑reliance and embrace the freedom of dependence. It is the dependence of Matthew 6:26- your Father feeds the birds; how much more will He care for you? It is the teachability of Proverbs 9:9- the wise grow wiser because they remain childlike in heart. It is the purity of motive described in 1 Peter 2:1–2-longing for the pure milk of the Word like newborn infants. Childlikeness is not immaturity; it is spiritual clarity. It is seeing God as Father and ourselves as His dependent children.

And finally, Jesus shows us that pride is the greatest barrier to salvation and the greatest threat to the church. Pride destroys unity, poisons relationships, and blinds us to our need for grace. Pride makes us platform‑hungry, self‑promoting, and resistant to correction. Pride keeps us from forgiving others and from receiving forgiveness ourselves. But humility, the humility of a child, opens the door to healing, reconciliation, and joy. It is the humility of Mark 10:43–45-greatness expressed in service, not status.

So Jesus places a child before us today, just as he did before the disciples. And he speaks the same words: “You want greatness? Drop your ego. Repent. Become small. Trust your Father. Be teachable. Be dependent. Be humble.” This is the only way into the kingdom, and it is the only way to live within it. In a world obsessed with climbing higher, Jesus invites us to kneel lower and there, in the low place, we find the joy, freedom, and greatness that only humility can bring.

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