At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:10
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
I want to think about all these passages below together today in regards to facing disability, and embracing and enfolding people with disabilities into the church. We need to see these people included in the Body of Christ regularly. But as my friend Michael Beates points out in his book Disability and the Gospel, the Church has miserably failed at this. We with normal ability need them in our lives desperately. In the wisdom of God, he has graciously given them to us for this reason. We need to see them because they are a picture of the gospel of grace. They need to be there in worship with us. They need to be among us because we need to be reminded that we are are frail human beings in need of the compassionate hand of Jesus Christ in our lives.
In Matthew 18 when the disciples asked the question "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" he put a child in midst of them and painted a picture of the gospel to them. I can think of two things Jesus was emphasizing when using this little child as an illustration: weakness and familial relationship.
A Child's Weakness: Jesus was explaining to his disciples the truth of their radical rebellion, weakness, and inability to save themselves from their own sin. A little child is dependent on the mercy and loving-kindness of parents to provide food, clothing, and shelter for his or her survival and thriving. A little child must humbly trust parents to provide these things. Sadly, parents oftentimes fail at this in our sinful world. But the power and simplicity of Jesus' illustration is not lost. A little child is utterly dependent on the parent because of the reality of the weakness of that child.
Familial Relationship: It does not take long for little children to recognize their own parents. That is even true of children with disabilities. There is something instinctive about that recognition that a child has for parent and parent for child. Children can pick their own parents out of a crowd. A child quickly trusts its own parents. The reality of weakness and the necessity of trust go hand-in-hand. A child must trust that a parent will not drop him or give him food that is not bad for him. A child runs to a parent for protection.
All these things are pictures of our need and dependence on our Heavenly Father who has provided for us salvation in Jesus Christ.
I find verse 10 interesting. Calvin points out that it doesn't mean we all have one guardian angel. Whether or not that is true, he is correct that this verse does not prove it. Rather, since the context is about humility and greatness, Jesus is saying something significant about how God cares about the weak. Jesus is saying we are not to despise little ones precisely because God has designated not merely one, but many angels who are worshiping and attending in the very presence of God, to be concerned about every little weak child in his Church. Angels are greater than us in majesty and in their closeness to God. But God has designated them to be concerned about our little ones and their salvation.
Finally, the Apostle Paul lets us in on a recurring theme throughout Scripture. That theme is God's purpose is choosing to do the unexpected to glorify himself in our salvation. Paul reminds the Corinthians of their own desperate need and lowly estate. Not many of them were wise, or powerful, or noble. Like the Corinthians, our own abilities do not save us. Our own endurance, effort, or skill cannot release us from the desperate state we are in because of sin. We are so often tempted to think differently. We think that we have engineered our own successes. But the cosmic reality is that we have not. It is God that has been merciful and given us what we have in ability, status, and possessions.
So as I said earlier, we need to be reminded of the way of salvation by having the weak and the helpless among us. Because in reality in the eyes of our mostly holy and wise God, we are the same: helpless, weak, and disabled in need of Jesus healing hand.
Gregory Yankey
May 13, 2013
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
