“…unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Mt 18:3–4
As I watch our first grandchild surrounded by a group of mature adults, I find Jesus’s observation about weakness and power very true. Watching that smallest human being in the room you realize that:
- the one who has no power over anything controls everything.
- the one who can’t utter even a word controls every conversation around her.
- the one who does not understand what time is, controls everybody’s schedule.
- the one who is the most needy, vulnerable and dependent has power over everyone around her.
Every parent knows that a newborn baby, the weakest, most needy and vulnerable human being has the greatest power in the family.
That little baby does not need to know anything, does not need to understand any words, she does not need to articulate any intellectual argument, yet she makes every adult around her a servant of her needs.
That’s how the smallest, most vulnerable becomes the most powerful, how a newborn life becomes the boss. She knows and cares nothing about power yet she is the most powerful. She holds all the cards. She controls her parents schedule, their sleep, their physical strength and money.
What makes the most vulnerable person the most powerful over a mature group of adults?
Love!
The parents’ love for her makes them attend to her every need. No power, no ruler, no intellectual argument, no financial gain could prevent the parents of that baby from meeting all her needs. Their love for that smallest, most vulnerable, utterly dependent human life is the greatest power that controls everything.
Jesus affirms our human experience when he made a statement about weakness and power. Having power in God’s Kingdom comes through becoming weak, dependent, vulnerable, teachable and moldable – becoming like a child. A child who utterly depends on the Father’s love, provision, protection and guidance. In God’s Kingdom greatness is achieved through weakness, power (control) is gained through dependence (giving up control).
A baby can teach us many things.
She teaches us that love has greater power than any government, than any physical strength or any intellectual persuasion or argument.
She teaches us that real greatness comes through weakness. Real power is when we give up power. Real strength is when we dare to be vulnerable.
She teaches us that when we are most vulnerable those who truly love us will love us even more and will attend to our needs. (At the same time we also learn who are the ones who do not really love us.)
She teaches us how much love it took for our Heavenly Father allowing his Son to be completely dependent on a young couple’s provision and protection! How much love He had that he allowed his Son to be sacrificed for us, for His enemies so we could become His children.
She teaches us that the best place we can be is in the Father’s arms where we can be who we really are.