In a culture obsessed with growing up, getting stronger, and becoming self-reliant, Jesus drops a truth that turns everything upside down:
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
This wasn’t a gentle suggestion. It was a bold warning. You will never enter the Kingdom… unless you change.
But what does that mean?
Surely Jesus didn’t mean we should become immature or naive. No, He meant we must return to the kind of heart that trusts, forgives, and loves without filters—the heart of a child. This wasn’t a compliment for cuteness. It was a call to transformation.
Childlike faith is not about being simple-minded. It’s about being single-hearted. A child knows how to depend completely on someone else. They don’t pretend to be strong when they’re not. They don’t fake confidence. They don’t hide when they’re afraid. A child runs straight to the one they trust. Jesus is asking us to do the same.
The adult heart is often tangled with pride, wounded by life, or guarded by layers of cynicism. But the childlike heart is wide open. When a child hears their father’s voice, they respond. When they fall, they cry out. When they love, they show it. They don’t care who’s watching. They aren’t trying to look spiritual—they just want to be close to the Father.
This is exactly what Jesus was highlighting. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t for the impressive. It’s for the dependent. It’s not for the powerful, but for the humble. We don’t enter it by climbing up. We enter by stooping down.
There’s something else that children do better than most adults: they forgive quickly. They don’t hold grudges for years. They don’t bury bitterness. One minute two kids can be fighting, and the next they’re laughing again. How many adults—how many believers—spend decades imprisoned by offense? The childlike heart walks in freedom because it lets go. It doesn’t let wounds define the future.
And when it comes to faith, children don’t need all the answers. They don’t demand every detail before they obey. If Dad says, “I’ll catch you,” they jump. That’s the kind of trust Jesus wants from us—not because we’re blind, but because we know the One who’s calling us.
Finally, think about children playing on a playground, in a pool, in a living room. Do they debate the news? Worry about politics? Argue over border control, foreign policy, or family dysfunction? Do they draw lines over race, denomination, or doctrine? Of course not. They just want to enjoy each other’s company. They laugh. They share. They imagine. They play. And without even trying, they fulfill one of the greatest commands: they love their neighbor as themselves.
What a lesson to a world—and a Church—that often forgets how to love without conditions. Children are not distracted by divisions. They’re too busy enjoying the people around them.
The religious world in Jesus’ day was full of adults trying to earn their way into heaven with rituals, knowledge, and performance. Jesus turned their system upside down with a child and a sentence: “Become like this… or you’ll never enter.”
That truth should shake us. And it should stir us.
It should shake the prideful, self-sufficient parts of us that have learned to hide behind adult sophistication. But it should also stir hope. Because it means that no matter how broken you feel, how lost you’ve been, how far from perfect you are—what God wants is your heart. A trusting, honest, surrendered heart.
The door to the Kingdom is child-sized. And the only way in is low. You can’t strut through it. You can’t drag your baggage in behind you. You kneel. You believe. You trust. You follow.
This is not weakness. It’s the fiercest kind of strength. The kind that surrenders to the King of kings. The kind that lets go of the world’s lies and grabs hold of the Father’s hand.
So if your faith has gotten complicated, cold, or calculated—maybe it’s time to return to simplicity. Maybe it’s time to stop striving and start trusting. Maybe it’s time to remember what it means to run to your Father like a child again.
Because Jesus didn’t stutter.
He said unless you become like children, you will not enter.
Don’t grow out of what God is calling you back to.
