What did Jesus mean when he said we need to “change and become like little children”? One clue we have here is that Jesus responded to the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and he answered, “Whoever humbles himself like this little 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 about who among them was the greatest; they seemed to be a competitive group.
And they thought about greatness in terms of leadership, knowledge, power, influence, and other things. So Jesus was telling His disciples that they needed to change their attitude about greatness and become humble and lowly like little children. Jesus’ followers needed to die to their selfish ambitions and realize that, just as little children depend on their parents and caregivers, we are all completely dependent on God for all of our needs and future life. 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 grows up. I said, ‘And when I grow up, I want to be a four-year-old boy.’ My grandson looked at me with wide, questioning eyes.” Have you been looking at God’s world with “wide, questioning eyes” lately? That’s what I long for when I hear the call to change and become like a child.