Matthew 18:2-3 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.

This passage points out a fundamental problem in current understanding of the English word, “repent.” The Japanese uses that term, but the NIV uses “change.” I think that is because most English speakers have forgotten that repentance requires change, while the Japanese term is literally, “regret and start over.” If there is no change, there is no repentance! With that understanding, the question becomes, “What do we have to repent of to become as little children?” Anyone who has spent time with little children will agree that they aren’t perfect, so what is it about them that is requisite to entering the kingdom of Heaven? I would say that it is the lack of pride. They don’t pretend they know everything, but rather accept what trusted people tell them. I would say that this passage indicates it’s very serious indeed to betray the trust of a little child! When trust has been betrayed, then the child finds it much harder to believe and trust in a loving heavenly Father. Some people maintain a child-like trust much later than others, and they can be very easy to lead into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We had one girl who made it out of high school that way, and she became a Christian the first time she had the Gospel presented to her!

I’ve got to keep this in mind from multiple perspectives. In the first place, I need to maintain a child-like relationship to my heavenly Father myself, rather than becoming all “adult” as I recommend that relationship to others. In the second place, I need to remember that what people need to repent of first of all is their failure to trust God. It is very easy to get hung up on some of the results of that failure, because they can be pretty severe, but it does no good to try to get people to repent of specific sins when they haven’t repented of their lack of faith and trust. That’s where my focus needs to be with the couple coming today. I don’t need a laundry list of things they are repenting of, I need to help them understand that repenting of unbelief hits all of those as well. The Guinness organization says that the Japanese have the highest average intelligence of any nationality tested, so this is of vital importance in evangelism. We don’t have to become stupid to receive the Gospel, but we have to recognize that we are as little children before God, and stop trying to pretend otherwise.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. Your timing is perfect. (Surprise!) Help me remember this truth not just today but all the time, to become powerfully effective in communicating the Gospel to all. Guide me in communicating this principle to the believers so that they too may be effective in communicating the Gospel. May we all be faithful children, trusting You to the point of obedience on every level, for our blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!