Matthew 11:25-27 ESV At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
Why would God want to hide things from the wise and reveal them to children? The answer is that the wise do not really have wisdom and the children do.
Children are trusting by nature. Unless traumatized by something, little children will believe anything you tell them. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are ludicrous concepts but I think I was eight years old before I started to question. My mother told me they were real and I believed her. That is how God wants His children to be. God wants His children to believe what He says without reservation, no matter how fantastic it may seem.
As adults, we tend to balk at that idea. We want rational explanations. We want to be convinced by proof. The problem is that the greatest human minds cannot comprehend God (Isaiah 55:8-9). We often try to make sense of that which is beyond our sensibility. Let’s face it, the gospel is utter nonsense by any rational thinking. A being so perfect and so powerful that He can create the universe with a word not only wants a relationship with us but sacrificed to get that relationship. Santa Claus is much more plausible. Yet, the gospel is absolutely true.
What the world calls wisdom is very different from what the Bible calls wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:18-20). To be wise in God’s eyes, one must submit to Him completely and give Him the reverence He is due (Proverbs 9:10). One of the ways we do that is by taking him at His Word. When the Bible says something, we must believe it.
Too many people judge the Bible by their own understanding. In other words, they tell God how they expect things to be, which is a special kind of foolishness. Another type of foolishness is deciding which parts of the Bible are true and which can be ignored. True wisdom is reading what God has to say to us and believing it even if we do not understand it. Francis Chan once said, “If I read the Bible and find something I don’t agree with, I must assume that I am wrong (my paraphrase).”
Jesus told us that, “…unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4). I believe the children Jesus is talking about in today’s passage is not chronological children but people willing to humble themselves before the Living God. They have true wisdom and God will reveal Himself to them. Those who consider themselves wise and demand that God explain Himself prove their own foolishness.
Heavenly Father, You are far beyond me, but yet You do reveal Yourself to those who trust You. Give me a child’s faith that I may prove wise in Your sight.