30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 17 1-2 Children and the kingdom of God 02 Leadership culture in God’s kingdom
📖 Luke 17:1-2
10Jun2020 - Leadership culture in God’s kingdom - Luke 17:1-2 - Bible reading: _Luke 9:46-48
Luke 17:1-2 Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! (2) It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
We are looking at Children and the kingdom of God. We see here that the disciples were disputing as to which of them would be greatest. In Matthew 18:1-3, we read, At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (2) Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, (3) and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Lord placed a little child in the midst of them and made it clear to them that if they are not converted and become as little children, they will not even enter the kingdom of heaven. The question of who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven does not even arise as they would not have entered the kingdom of heaven.
That makes it crucial for us to consider seriously as to how and why children are key in understanding the kingdom of God.
The Lord set a little child by Him and in the midst of the disciples. Luke 9:46-48 Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. (47) And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, (48) and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great."
The Lord seemed to have bypassed the question of the disciples of who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The response of Jesus was for the disciples to receive a little child in His name. What is our Lord teaching us?
He is calling us to focus our lives on children, on the weak, on those who are not seen as ‘important’ in society, on the vulnerable, on the marginalised, on the elderly, on widows and orphans. We understand this concern of God from the entire scripture. Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' As we focus on children, we are focussing our attention on Christ and on God.
The leadership culture of the world is to focus attention on greatness, on superiority over others, on education, on capabilities, talents and achievements. It is to lord it over others and exercise power and authority over others.
Whereas, the leadership culture of the kingdom of God is to serve the lowly and those from whom we will not receive any benefit or get any mileage. Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. (26) Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. (27) And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
This leadership culture of the kingdom of God can be learnt from focusing our attention on children.
So, here is the first lesson that we learn from children, concerning the kingdom of God. When we focus our attention on children, we will internalise the culture of the leadership of the kingdom of God, which is a culture to be unnoticed, ignored and overlooked, for we are not seeking to build our brand name but we are focussed on genuinely caring for the vulnerable.
Are we prepared to journey with Jesus to adopt the leadership culture of the kingdom of God? It is the children, who will teach us to do so.
*Thought to ponder*
When we see the leadership culture that is manifested amongst us, believers, we are shocked to see that we have effectively adopted the leadership culture of the world but not that of the kingdom of God.