by Amanda Harris
“Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom?” Jesus responded, “the truth is, you must change your thinking and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter God’s kingdom. The greatest person in God’s kingdom is the one who makes himself humble like this child.” Matthew 18:1-4 (ERV).
The last podcast about how Miriam helped save Moses sent me back to my own childhood. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried pretty much every day of the first grade. I loved learning and even liked my teacher, but I had never been around so many people I didn’t know. It was loud. There were cooties. Between the line cutters and the bullies, I didn’t understand why so many kids didn’t follow the rules. To top it off, we spent every morning in the cafeteria before we were permitted to go to our classroom. Leaving a six year old alone with her thoughts and fears for twenty minutes before the day even began just made the anxiety worse.
Enter my big sister. She was, to me, invincible. She was loyal and had a strong sense of right and wrong. She was also a fifth grader and was not supposed to be in the cafeteria with the younger children. When one of the (not so nice) teachers told her that she couldn’t wait with me before class, my sister promptly informed the teacher that she was staying. She wouldn’t leave me, and she didn’t. Day after day, my sister accompanied me to the cafeteria and stayed until I said it was okay for her to go.
The funny thing is, I turned out to be pretty brave. I have traveled to other countries by myself and taken huge leaps of faith by moving, alone, to new cities far away from my family and friends. Today, I’m probably independent to a fault. But I would not be this way without my sister’s courage and compassion or without my own childish faith in her. Enter Miriam and Moses. The Bible says that Miriam “stood at a distance to see what would happen to [Moses].” Exodus 2:4. Miriam stayed with Moses, like my sister stayed with me, and then Miriam stepped out in faith by suggesting that Pharaoh’s daughter keep Moses alive. Exodus 2:7. Moses would not have been who he was without Miriam. In fact, Moses probably would not have survived beyond infancy. But Miriam was his champion. Much like my sister, she was brave, faithful, and had strong sense of right and wrong. She seized on the opportunity to save her brother, and that act of faith ultimately helped save her people.
Maybe today you feel like Miriam, strong, brave, and faithful. Perhaps you need to ask God to give you an opportunity to step out in faith to help someone else. Or maybe you feel more like baby Moses, afraid, alone, and floating without direction. Either way, there is a God for you to put your child-like faith and trust in. He is the same God who brought two women to the river at just the right moment, and He is the same God who puts Miriams in our lives just when we most need a champion.
When asked, “Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom?” Jesus responded, “the truth is, you must change your thinking and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter God’s kingdom. The greatest person in God’s kingdom is the one who makes himself humble like this child.” Matthew 18:1-4 (ERV). Thank you God; for on the days I feel most afraid, I will rely on my faith in you to pass through the storm. And on days I feel bravest, it will be with that same faith that I step out. I pray today that we can take a moment to humble ourselves and become like little children, putting our faith in the Father who loves us so.