At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-4 (NIV)
If you look closely into the eyes of an infant, you will see your own reflection, and if you look closer still, you will also see a reflection of the Lord.
When a baby is born and until they begin to develop some independence of their own, they are wholly dependent upon you. The child looks up to you―like a god. Without question; they are completely trusting in you, and confident that you will provide them with everything that they will need. When a child begins to reach the age of puberty, they start to look forward to their own independence. As a teenager, they still remain confident that you will take care of them and they still want you to love them; however, at an arm's length away. Not when you want to, but when they want you to. The child becomes an adult and they leave home. They become confident in their own abilities and less dependent upon you. They work, they marry, and they begin to have children of their own. Then if it is the Lords will, you begin to age and often become more like a child, depending on your children to take care of you.
The Lord wants us to look up to him, in the same manner that our children look up to us. He wants us to look toward him, with unfailing faith, confident that no matter what we need, he will take care of us. The Lord wants us to be innocent and to behave righteously. He wants us to listen to him, like a child, obediently trying to do what he tells us. The Lord truly loves us and he would like to be loved in return and appreciated for who he is and what he has done, and continues to do for our sake. He wants to have the same relationship with us that we have with our children.
The Lord gave each one of us an opportunity to know him, through our families. Each of us was a child at one time, but then we grew up. Some of us have had families of our own to care about, while others have raised children that were not their own; but then, they became like their own, in time. Some of us have been in an occupation surrounded by children, responsible for their well being. Just as we have experienced love and joy, frustration and anger, through our children; the Lord has experienced these same emotions through us. If we have ever felt unappreciated, rejected, or abused; the Lord has too. When we become older, we have a tendency to become full of pride and confident in our abilities. We boast about our accomplishments and all that we have acquired without truly appreciating that none of this could have happened without the Lord. Later, if we are given the opportunity to age; we become humbled, weak, and dependent upon others; like children and infants again. The reason for this is so that we might repent and come to realize our foolishness. The Lord allows this time for us to become mindful of our thoughtlessness of him; so that before we die, we might become like little children and respect the Lord, for whom he is and live.