v 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
We will all have our own ideas as to what constitutes greatness. It may be someone we see in public life, or on the football field, the current Pop-Idol or Catwalk model. The whole counter-cultural concept of real greatness could not be clearer. It comes not through performance, wealth or social status but through humility. The person with no claim to recognition, no power to achieve anything, and no standing by worldly values, but has chosen the pathway of child-like humility in obedience to God is the one who has found greatness in Kingdom of God terms. It is not the grovelling humility of some Dickensian character designed to curry favour but the chosen humility of dependence on God – it is ‘Walking Humbly with God.’
A prayer for today. Heavenly Father, today and every day I choose to walk humbly with you. Deliver me from selfish aspirations to be important in the eyes of others or expect greater recognition for what I do. AMEN.