We must divest ourselves of personal ambition if we are to be able to serve the Lord with ultimate effectiveness wherever we are ever called to serve.
“…We quote His teachings but we don’t follow them. We admire Him, but we don’t worship Him.”
One day Jesus witnessed an argument among the Twelve and later asked, “What was it that ye disputed among yourselves?” Apparently embarrassed, they “held their peace,” the record says. But this greatest of all teachers perceived the thoughts of their hearts and sensed the first blush of personal pride. So He “called a little child unto him, …
“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Clearly Christ called a little child who was young enough, humble enough, and innocent enough to simply follow instructions.
So what is it that we are to see in the virtues of life’s junior varsity? What was it that brought Christ Himself to tears in the most tender scene in the entire Book of Mormon? What was Jesus teaching when He called down heavenly fire and protective angels to surround those children, commanding the adults to “behold [their] little ones”?
We don’t know what prompted all of that, but I have to think it had something to do with their purity and innocence, their inborn humility, and what it could bring to our lives if we retain it.
Many of us profess to be Christians, yet we … do not take Him seriously. … We respect Him, but we don’t follow Him. … We quote His sayings, but we don’t live by them.” “We admire Him, but we don’t worship Him.
James W. Clarke
Faith, loyalty, purity, trust, honor, and, in the end, love for that father he so wished to please. These and a dozen other qualities make us also say, “Whosoever … shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
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