Animal Crackers

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Every Sunday, the kids at church go to class, sit down for their lesson, and then get a snack. Now, this snack isn't anything crazy. They didn't earn it, they didn't pay for it, but it was freely given. And trust me, they have no problem believing that. If you think they do, then you've never seen a first grader put away two big handfuls of goldfish and animal crackers. In this passage, the disciples are going back and forth and eventually ask Jesus who the greatest in heaven will be.¹ And Christ is about to teach them—and us—a very important lesson. He calls over a child.² Now, I'm sure this kid hadn't just scarfed down some goldfish, but the Lord tells them that without childlike faith, none of them will see heaven.³ Just like the disciples, we tend to be prideful and think we must earn our place in heaven. But we must be humble.⁴ Just like the kids on Sunday with their goldfish and animal crackers, we don't earn our salvation. We can't work for it.⁵ It is a free gift from God that through faith we receive.⁶ This free gift is Christ dying on the cross to forgive us of our sins.⁷ When we live in our sin, we are separated from God.⁸ But when we accept that Christ died for our sins and turn away from our sin, we are reunited with Him and get to spend an eternity with Him in heaven.⁹ Scripture References ¹ Matthew 18:1 ² Matthew 18:2 ³ Matthew 18:3–4 ⁴ James 4:6 ⁵ Ephesians 2:8–9 ⁶ Romans 6:23 ⁷ 1 Peter 3:18 ⁸ Isaiah 59:2 ⁹ John 3:16; 1 John 1:9

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