Being Little Children In Eternity

Matthew 18:1-6 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

How Can I Be “The Greatest”?

Opening: In America, people have gone “social media” crazy. Young people go about with smart phones, dancing and acting foolish, so that their video and fame might go “viral”. Everyone wants to be famous on earth. I heard a phrase the other day where they said Jack Nicklaus (the Golden Bear) was the GOAT in golf. The man is 86 years old. When I heard that, I thought “How disrespectful to call him an old GOAT”. Then I found out that GOAT stands for GREATEST OF ALL TIME. He is – in golf. Nicklaus won 18 Major Championships, 73 PGA Tours, and was a runner up in major championships 19 times. So in golf he is the GOAT.

But what about Heaven? Will Jack be famous in Heaven? And let me ask you, Have you thought about Heaven?

In our text today the disciples came to Jesus. That very day Jesus had been to the Mount of Transfiguration. They heard the Father say, “This is My Beloved Son – HEAR HIM!” (Matthew 17:5). When Jesus came off the mountain, He cast a demon from a child (Matthew 17:18). Jesus paid a Temple Tax by having the disciples catch a fish – and find a gold coin in its mouth (Matthew 17:27).

The disciples had heard the Voice of the Father, and seen the miraculous work of the Son. So now they ask Jesus a good question:

“Who is the GREATEST (meizōn) in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Word Study: The Greek meizōn doesn’t mean “boss”. It means “elder”. I used to think that the disciples were battling over who would be in charge when they got to Heaven. But as I prayerfully consider the context, I believe that they were asking “who will be considered an elder by God”, or to put it another way,

How shall we live in the light of eternity
so as to impress God?

We should all live in the light of eternity. Too many people are focused on impressing other people on this earth. But you’re going to be on this earth just a relatively small amount of time. Even if you live to be 102 years old (as my grandmother did), that’s very little time compared to eternity.

Illustration: Here’s an interesting thing – I came across my obituary this week. I keep an eye on my hometown through the magic of the Internet. As a Pastor, I also watch the obituaries. Last Wednesday, June 10 2026 this popped up on my news feed:

David Buffaloe Obituary – Garner, North Carolina – David Buffaloe passed away June 6, 2026

That’s my hometown! When I read the obituary (obviously not mine) this David was a “man of faith who regularly participated in Church services, lived his beliefs by example, and remained steadfast in his walk with the Lord”. In the obituary the Bible was quoted:

Proverbs 20:7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him

This had a different middle name (Michael), obviously a different wife (Karen), had three sons as I do, and was a member of First Baptist Church on St Mary’s Street. This David was much younger than I (53), and he now stands in the Presence of the Lord. Why is David Buffaloe in Heaven? Not because he’s the greatest in Heaven, but because he humbled himself as a little child, and came to Jesus.

Friends, we all need to be living in the light of eternity. We all need Jesus. This week we as a Church are going to be reaching out to children, to attempt to lead them toward Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus loved children.

What Impresses God? What Should
Elder (meizōn) Christians Do?

Being an elder Christian – a Christian who impresses God – is not based on your absolute knowledge of the Scriptures. You should:

(2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.

You should cherish and read God’s Word. But you may not understand everything you read. You should nonetheless DO what God says in His Word (if you are an elder Christian).

Illustrate: A little boy was in Sunday School, listening to his teacher tell the story of Lot land his family leaving Sodom and Gomorrah. The teacher said: “Lot was warned to take his wife and FLEE out of the city. But Lot’s wife looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.” The teacher asked, “Are there any questions”? One little boy asked,

“His wife turned to salt. But what happened to the FLEA”?

When the disciples asked “WHO IS THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?”, they went to the right Source. They went to Jesus. The Old Testament Jew – in particular the Pharisees, refused to go to Jesus, but instead went to the Law to impress God. You cannot impress God by going to the Law.

God gave Israel the Law at Mount Sinai because, though He had saved them by faith, they refused to follow and surrender their lives to God. So God gave them the Law. The Bible says:

(Romans 3:19-20 LSB) Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law, so that EVERY MOUTH MAY BE SHUT and ALL THE WORLD MAY BE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD; [20] because BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW NO FLESH WILL BE JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT, for THROUGH THE LAW COMES THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.

The Law was given to convict us as sinners. The Law was given to lead us to Jesus:

(Galatians 3:24-26 NKJV) Therefore the LAW WAS OUR TUTOR TO BRING US TO CHRIST, that we might be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. [25] But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. [26] For you are all SONS OF GOD THROUGH FAITH in Christ Jesus.

You cannot hope to be meizōn – an elder in Christ
unless you first come to Christ.

(Matthew 18:1-2 KJV) At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? [2] And Jesus CALLED A LITTLE CHILD UNTO HIM, and SET HIM IN THE MIDST of them,

Jesus first of all CALLED THE LITTLE CHILD – and that child CAME. The child was not called to a PLACE, but to a PERSON. Jesus told the child, “YOU come to ME”. The child came to Jesus. The child allowed Jesus to handle him. This is the first step to impressing Heaven. To come to Jesus when He calls. Jesus said:

(John 5:23-24 LSB) so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. HE WHO DOES NOT HONOR THE SON DOES NOT HONOR THE FATHER WHO SENT HIM. [24] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

The Christian way of life is not about walking an aisle. It’s about willingly putting yourself in the hands of Jesus. To come when Jesus calls. To serve Him, not self.

Jesus said in:

(Luke 9:23-24 LSB) … If anyone wishes to come after Me, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY and FOLLOW ME. [24] For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

To be a child of God, you must come when Jesus calls. You must love Jesus, for He loves you. To love this world more than Jesus, you will never be blessed – or even see the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus warned:

(Luke 9:25-26 LSB) For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? [26] For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and [the glory] of the Father and of the holy angels.

To achieve greatness in God’s Kingdom, you must glorify Him. You must magnify Jesus.

To Enter The Kingdom Of Heaven, You Must Be Converted

(Matthew 18:3 KJV) … Verily I say unto you, Except ye be CONVERTED {STREPHO}, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Word Study: The word for “CONVERTED” is the Greek strephō, which means “to turn from ones self. To turn from one course of conduct to another”. Coming to Jesus, we stop following the world, and follow our Master and Savior. We who are saved “BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN”. We are no longer the bosses. Jesus is the boss. We are to:

Be HUMBLE. (1 Peter 5:5-7 LSB) … all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. [6] Therefore HUMBLE YOURSELVES UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD, that He may exalt you at the proper time, [7] CASTING ALL YOUR ANXIETY ON HIM, because He cares for you.

TRUST Jesus. Put yourself in His hands.

Be TEACHABLE. Let God “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6)

Have a SIMPLE faith. You don’t have to understand it all. Just love Jesus.

Whosoever shall not RECEIVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS A LITTLE CHILD, he shall not enter therein. (Mark 10:15)

You cannot enter Heaven unless you receive Jesus. That child received Jesus. He called, and the child came. Who is Jesus? He is Lord. Jesus is called “Lord” 747 times in the New Testament. Salvation begins when you are converted – you stop trying to be God – and you come and rest in the arms of Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. That is not negotiable! Believing on Jesus is to rest in His arms. Jesus is very clear in His illustration:

(Matthew 18:4 KJV) Whosoever therefore shall HUMBLE HIMSELF AS THIS LITTLE CHILD, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The little child who humbles themselves will be saved, for Jesus is with that little child. Jesus calls on His people to RECEIVE the little children in His Name.

We Impress God By Bringing Children To Jesus’ Side

(Matthew 18:5 LSB) And whoever RECEIVES one such child in My name receives Me

We can’t make a child believe in Jesus, but we can bring the children to Him. Beloved, your children and grandchildren will one day leave this plane of existence – and you don’t know when that will happen. You need to bring your children to Jesus. In the very next chapter of Matthew we are told:

(Matthew 19:13-15 NKJV) Then little children were brought to Jesus that He might put [His] hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. [14] But Jesus said, “LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, and DO NOT FORBID THEM; for OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.” [15] And He laid [His] hands on them and departed from there.

I have heard parents and grandparents say, “I’m going to wait for my children to choose Jesus for themselves”. When I hear this, I understand I’m talking to a Biblically illiterate Christian (if you are indeed a Christian). A child will never naturally gravitate to Jesus.

A child left to themselves will chase the flashy, the bright and impressive. A child in a friend group will follow the whim of the group. If the parent and grandparent will not parent, the world will parent – and the child will not meet Jesus.

When people brought their children to Jesus, He laid hands on them and prayed for them. Jesus told His disciples – those who had been following Him:

LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, and DO NOT FORBID THEM

The little children were coming because the parents or adults of the families were bringing them. Every disciple of Christ should want the children to be saved. The madness we see in America today – at times total insanity – is because parents are not bringing their children to Jesus, but to social media, racism, and hatred.

You’ve all probably heard of the young Texan Karmelo Anthony sentenced to 35 years imprisonment for murder. This young man was just 17 years old when he stabbed another young man to death at a school track meet in Frisco, Texas. The argument was over nothing. Had either boy’s parents taught their children the sacredness of life? Had these children been told when they were younger that God’s standard is very clear:

Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds human blood, BY HUMANS SHALL THEIR BLOOD BE SHED; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

Life is precious. Children are precious. They need to be led to Jesus at a young age, to where the Lord can reach out and touch them.

Jesus Protects The Children Who Come To Him

(Matthew 18:6 KJV) But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Jesus Christ protects those who are His. If you are born again by faith in Jesus Christ then trust Him. Rest in Him. Rest in His Word, and do as He tells you to do. Pastor John Piper said “Humility is the soil in which everything in the Christian life grows”.

As a Christian I know that if I please Jesus, it doesn’t matter who I displease. If I displease Jesus, it doesn’t matter who I please! Dear friends, are you trusting Jesus? Are you surrendered to Him? Oh, don’t wait. Run to His nail scarred hands. Let Him embrace you in ever area of your life. The question every Christian should ask every day is “Lord, what would you have me to do?” If you’re born again, you were born to the Family of God. You were saved to serve Him.

ILLUSTRATE: A Christian family went through one of the dark moments. A husband lost his precious wife to cancer. He lay in bed that night with his little daughter grieving. He heard his little girl stir next to him. “Daddy, its so dark. Are you there?” Yes honey, I’m here. “Daddy, I can’t see you. Is your face turned toward me?”

Yes child, though you can’t see me, my face is turned toward you.

As his little girl went to sleep the daddy quietly slipped out of bed. Kneeling next to the bed he prayed, “Father, its so dark … Are You there?” In his heart he heard the Lord reply. Yes son, I’m here. “Father, I can’t see You. Is Your face turned toward me?” Yes son, though You can’t see Me, My face is turned toward you. You are My child, and I love you.

We all need to be in the arms of Jesus. Like little children, we need to rest in Him.