The Kingdom of Heaven

Jesus called a small child into their midst and had him stand before them.  And He said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt: 18:3).

 

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matt. 19:14).

 

 

The reason Jesus came was to bring (not simply announce) the kingdom of heaven to earth.  We do not have to wait until we die to enter the kingdom of heaven; it is here.  It has arrived in the Person of God-with-us: Emmanuel/ the Christ.  Many Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah because He did not bring the world-wide peace they were looking for.  But he said that His kingdom is not of this world; it is in the world, but not of the world.

 

Not everyone belongs to the kingdom, but we know who does belong.  In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus listed for us those who enter the kingdom even now: the poor in spirit, they who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.  

 

Those who cannot enter the kingdom of heaven are the proud, the powerful (in the sense of abusing or lording it over others), the ambitious, the "rich," those who are unchildlike in any way.

 

It is really easy to recognize those who belong to the kingdom, even though we do not judge or condemn others.  We do not have to argue about who has the right doctrine, or which system is the best.  Children do not concern themselves with such things.  A child-like spirit is simpy receptive to the truth and to those who love.  They want to be loved, cuddled, taught.  They know they cannot take care of themselves -- an infant cannot even feed itself, but is dependent on someone to choose nourishing food and to provide it. 

 

St. Peter, in his first letter to the new Christian church, tells believers that they have "been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God" (I Pet. 1:23).  He urges them as newborn babies, to "rid [themselves] of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander...and to crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation" (I Peter 2:1-2). 

 

Like babies, we "grow up" in our salvation as we begin to digest the pure milk of the word of God.  We are told to "crave" the milk, given to us by the Holy Spirit.  Those in Jesus' day who came to Him had no hope of ambition, power, riches, either because, like Joseph of Aramithea or Matthew, they had already tasted the disillusionment of such things and were ready to turn away from them, or like children, they felt helpless in a world of power and glory. 

 

It is so good for us to know how to enter the kingdom of heaven even now:  to become little, powerless, pure of heart, turning away from manipulating the world's systems for our own advantage and seeking only the kingdom of God and His righteousness.