God and mankind are fully reconciled in Jesus Christ by not having their trespasses imputed to them. The completed work of Jesus on the cross offers to everyone who will believe in Him forgiveness and righteousness. This finished work releases to every believer the blessing of Abraham whom God called a friend. The gospel gets better still.
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯?”
"Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘦." "
(MATTHEW 18:1-5 )
The title is a reference to the disciples' repeated dispute recorded in Mark 9:33-37 and in Matthew 18:1-5: Over who was the greatest in the kingdom of God. Using the examples of a little child and a servant, Jesus teaches that true greatness is found in humility, dependence on God, receiving one another as God's children, and serving others rather than seeking status or recognition.
Here, Elder Thomas emphasizes that understanding God's kingdom requires being born again and adopting the attitude of a child. Believers are called to lay aside worldly ideas of rank and privilege, embrace humility, and follow Christ's example of servant-hearted living as members of God's family.
