The Faith that Enters the Kingdom

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17).

Jesus noticed the concern among the disciples over the many parents who were bringing their infants to Him for a touch from Heaven. The heart of the One who came to seek and to save the lost was revealed in His rebuke and is echoed in His words elsewhere… “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Having just concluded a revealing discourse about the kind of faith He would be looking for upon His return, Jesus seized this moment and created a living illustration that added depth to that lesson. With an exhortation to… “receive the kingdom of God like a child”, Jesus reveals to truth seekers in every age the key to discovering and living the Christian life in a fallen world and securing eternal life in the kingdom to come is through the faith that enters the kingdom.

The faith that enters the kingdom is confident. The infants were brought to Jesus by their parents. They did not come under their own power because they were not able to. They did not come by choice because they could not choose. They were brought by those who had experienced or expected such a tremendous blessing from an encounter with Jesus Christ that they had confidence that their babies would receive a blessing from the touch of His hand. There is wonderful encouragement here for determined disciples to bring their needs to Jesus through humble and expectant prayer… “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). As confident faith takes control of our heart we expect God’s kingdom to come as we pray.

The faith that enters the kingdom is contrite. The infants were bought to Jesus for a touch. Their parents were not asking for hours of the Master’s time. They were not seeking a sermon or even hoping for some kind of miracle. They humbly sought a touch from His hand. The infant that received the touch had no conscious expectation at all, but was the recipient of all the possible blessings that a touch from the hand of God might contain. What an encouraging and humbling lesson we discover here about how we should approach Jesus in time of need. Like parents bringing infants for a touch from Jesus we should offer our requests to God from a contrite heart and ask Him to touch and conform them to His perfect will. The Holy Spirit echoes this precious truth through the inspired words of the Apostle Paul… “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but… the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). As contrite faith grows in our heart our prayers are conformed to His kingdom-building and revealing will.

The faith that enters the kingdom is converting. True disciples that hungered to be close to Jesus might have envied the little infants that got close enough to receive a touch from His hand. Jesus’ revelation that the kingdom must be received like a child that receives His touch was meant to move His listeners to echo the question of Nicodemus… “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4). The Spirit inspired the Apostle John to record the answer to this question before it was asked… “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Converting faith is a gift of God that transforms us and allows us to enter into His kingdom as born again Children of God.

As we grow up into Christ, we live above and beyond this temporal world by growing in…

The Faith that Enters the Kingdom.