Obedience is not Jesus' first priority

This note was taken in exasperation with my children as I reflected on the passage, “Unless you become like this little child, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

When Jesus said the kingdom belongs to those who are like children, he didn’t mean obedience. I mean, have you tried to get a child to obey you? In fact, obedience seems low on God’s priority list. It comes somewhere after love, presence and covenant loyalty.

Jesus' idea of obedience differs from law. While a person may read the Bible and place boundaries all around their lives to keep the Law (which is the Pharisee’s approach), this does not produce the obedience that God requires. He’s not opposed per se, but He has another idea.

A person may say, “I have read your words God, and I have gained wisdom. With this wisdom I have done this: what do you think?” But this is not what God has in mind. This is why obedience as following a written code is not a priority for the LORD.

Consider: a child is terrible at keeping a written code. I have to remind my three-year-old to do the same thing every day, no matter how many times he’s done it in the past. He’s become quite autonomous in some areas, but by no means all. And what he can do is purely from habit, not from any personal resolve or motivation. However, he assumes I’ll be intimately involved as he goes, guiding him along the way. He doesn’t make it his mission to become autonomous, apart from skill-building. Or in other words, he puts effort into learning to walk instead of being carried, but he puts no effort into making a rule set for how to determine when he’s finished with dinner and can go play.