"At that time the disciples of Jesus came unto Him, saying, Who, then, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? And He called to Him a little child, and set it in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven " (Matt. 18 :1-3).

Our Lord here presses lowliness upon all His disciples, and uses a little child as His text in answer to their question, which evidenced their need of such instruction. There had been a dispute among them, the other Gospels tell us, as to who among them should be the greater. The Lord's words about the keys to Peter (ch. 16:18, 19), and His joining Peter with Himself in payment of the temple-tax, may have led to this; but the cause is not stated, nor is it important. The important thing was the condition of soul which the question itself revealed. Greatness was what they sought- and in that which they owned to be the kingdom of heaven, but which (as they are shown later) they are making but a kingdom of the Gentiles, in their thoughts-a place for the gratification of ambition and self-seeking.

In this a little child was capable of being their instructor. Jesus called to Him a little child, and placed him in the midst of them, and said, with one of His emphatic affirmations, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."

The question is a more fundamental one than that which they had started. One must enter it, in order to be great in it; and ambition could not even enter. They have in mind the time when "greatness" will be established by the King, and receive its reward, and the Lord states the necessary condition for even entrance into it.

The little child reminds us of the way in which God has ordained that men should enter the present life-surely, in lowliness and feebleness enough. The long drill and discipline of childhood might well seem intended to "hide pride from man," and the mercy of God it is that provides, for beings so helpless, the love and care which, even in such a world as this, so generally wait upon the birth of children. So also is it with the beginning- of spiritual life, which we enter not as doers of something great, but in feebleness and poverty to receive grace-not our due. And the end is as the beginning:it is in grace we grow-at the end as at the beginning; it is salvation that we receive; reward at last is not claim but mercy. In this way it is, as little children, that the kingdom of heaven must be entered; and in proportion to the simplicity with which this is done will the true character of the kingdom be attained. "A little child" may indeed have in its heart the seed of ambition as of all other evil, but to the man who estimates himself but as that, no ambitious thought is possible. The Lord in His grace identifies Himself with the least of His own, so as to assure everyone that his littleness will not make him of little account to Him. This is an assurance which prevents the consciousness of nothingness becoming a distress ; nay, rather, it enables us the more to realize the sweetness of a love so great-a love that wraps itself about the objects of it, like a mother with a babe, and grows, as one might say, passionate in denouncing those who would injure them. And so, "whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a great mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he sunk in the depths of the sea;"-so does God care for the feeblest of His own!
From Numerical Bible, on Matt. 18:1-3.