"Mine?"

Matthew 19:13-30

At the beginning of this passage, Jesus makes what must have been a startling statement to his listeners (and certainly to his disciples): "The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."

This was probably startling because not much thought was given to children back then. The idea that children are anything more than just "little adults" is a relatively recent concept. And Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. What was it about children that Jesus was recognizing?

Children come into the world helpless and completely dependent on their parents, and this is certainly something that we can emulate in our relationship with God. Like children, we must also recognize our helplessness and our complete dependence on our heavenly father.

But look ahead to the next section. In verses 16-22, a young man comes to Jesus asking one of the key questions of the gospel: what must be done to gain eternal life? Jesus lists some commandments, and the young man assures Jesus that he has kept them, so he presses the question further. Jesus, perhaps recognizing this man's wealth, tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. This causes the young man great sadness because of love of his possessions.

Here is something else quite childlike. Anyone who has children knows that the concept of personal possessions develops very early. We hoped to hold it off with our own children, but to our surprise, "Mine!" was among the first words our oldest daughter spoke. Sharing does not come naturally; it has to be learned.

But children also know that everything they have comes from their parents (which is why they never stop asking us for things). I think Jesus must have also been recognizing this when he said we must be like children.

The wealthy young man loved his possessions, and in that way he was very much like a child. But did he understand that everything he had came from God in the first place? Do we understand that?

Drew Clausen