Are You Living Greatly? 

 The other day, while dining at a favorite salad bar, we sat next to a family that had an adorable little girl in it.  She couldn’t have been more than three or four and she was as cute as a button.  At one point during the meal she collapsed into a fit of giggles.  Her delight was contagious and soon we were laughing too.  We learned from her mother that the little girl was relishing the fact that she had “stolen” her aunt’s seat at the table while her aunt was making a trip to the salad bar.  When her aunt returned to find her small niece sitting in her chair, she immediately entered into the spirit of the game, putting a pretend ‘scowl’ on her face and exclaiming “what happened to my seat?”  To which the little girl responded with a burst of giggles again.    We all began to laugh as the aunt and niece chatted back and forth over whose seat it really was.  All of this stopped however, when the little girl noticed that her aunt had brought back a piece of pie from the dessert bar.  She immediately lost interest in the ‘stolen chair’ game and grabbed the pie right out of her aunt’s hands.  The look on her aunt’s face was one of amused astonishment as if to say, “first you take my chair and now you have my pie!” and yet she smiled at the precocious child and willingly give her the pie too. 

 Later as I reflected on that scene, I thought of something Jesus said when He was asked by His followers, “which of us is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven ?”  Jesus called a small child over to Him and put the child among them.  Then He said, “I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven .  Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven .”  (Matthew 18:1-4) 

 I thought about what it meant to become like that innocent little girl I had seen at the restaurant.  To be absolutely without a worry or care.  To trust that her parents would take care of her.  To believe that her world was a safe place and that each day was filled with people like her aunt and delicious pieces of pie.  I realized how hard it would be to become like that unless one accepted the absolute goodness, faithfulness, and love of God.  To rest secure in Him just as that little girl rested in the security of her parents’ care, was tantamount to achieving greatness in God’s economy.  Why?  Because by relying on God completely, we rely on the greatest One. 

 I know that little girl had days that probably were not so much fun.  I’m sure she had her share of tummy aches and scrapped knees.  She may have even experienced sorow in her young life that caused her to run to her parents in tears.  But I have this feeling that even during her childhood woes; she still rested in the care of her parents, knowing they would make it all better.   

 I have a feeling that’s what Jesus was saying to His disciples and ultimately to each of us.  When we learn to rest in God no matter what, we are exactly where we need to be to experience how truly great God is and to experience that greatness lived out in our own lives just as it should be.