In refusing the parents and their children, the disciples had turned the gospel of God’s free and undeserved grace to sinners into a message about having the right status and qualifications. They wanted to limit the kingdom to those who are considered important. They wanted to add something to God’s free grace. And in doing so they turned the grace of God into a work.
As human beings, we all have a natural tendency to think that we approach God through our works. We struggle to believe and accept that salvation is a free gift of God. We’re constantly looking for something we can do that will serve as the basis of God’s mercy to us. For example, “God must let me into his kingdom because I give to charity, I donate blood, I listen to inspiring Christian music, I pray and fast regularly, I read my Bible, I go to church, I’m humble, I try to be a good person, I’m rich.” Whatever it might be, we are quick to find some kind of work that we do or quality we possess and we trust that God’s grace and mercy must depend on that work.
But the kingdom of God is to be received like a child. It is to be received as a free gift of God bestowed upon those whom God chooses. We can do nothing to merit God’s mercy, we can do nothing to merit God’s grace. We do not come to God with our repentance, our faith, or our humility as if they are marks of our worthiness. We come to him pleading for his mercy, trusting only in his promise that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for our sins.
15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”