Luke 9:46-62

Key Verse: "Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest." (Luke 9:48)

This passage made me think about my attitude toward Christ and toward his call for my life. The story begins with Jesus’ disciples arguing over who was the greatest among them. One or two may have thought that they were Jesus’ favorite disciple, and each knew their own strengths and weaknesses and held them over each other during the fight. No doubt they wondered who would be in charge when Jesus left; or at least who was the leader among them, but Jesus quickly put a stop to their bickering. Verses 47 and 48 say that “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest."”

This contradictory statement likely confused the disciples, as it would to anyone with a worldly perspective. But Jesus, as always, speaks here with a spiritual objective in mind. Our society values things such as individuality, self-confidence, and independence. However, God values humility and despises arrogance, and that is what Jesus was trying to make the disciples understand. To welcome a child—to interact with, take care of, and value that child—often means lowering oneself to their level. It means giving of one’s own time, effort, resources, and most often our pride. Raising a child takes a very long time and is a very thankless (and seemingly fruitless) job.