Dondi
Well-Known Member
"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:3
Until very recently, I always regard this passage of scripture in the light of a Christian or "born-again" experience. Indeed, many evangelists will expound of this scripture to mean that one has to be saved to enter the Kingdom of God.
But upon a closer look at it, I discovered a deeper truth. I couldn't help but regard the phrase "and become as little children" and found that this is not necessarily speaking about a "Christian" conversion, but a conversion to a child. And it dawned on me that Jesus is speaking about bringing ourselves into a mindset of a little child. What does that involve?
A child has a sense of wonderment and asks a lot of questions. His/her mind is still forming the basic structures of thought and insight based on learning and experience. A child possesses a sense of trust to his/her parents, teachers, and other elders. And unlike an adult, they are not cemented in their philosophy. They are receptive to new ideas and adaptive to change.
So when Jesus is telling His disciples that they must be converted to little children, He is simply telling them that they need to strip themselves of the mindset they have been immersed in and be receptive to the things of God.
In the disciple's case, they have been orientated to 1st century Judaism. And there is nothing wrong with this, per se. But I think there is a point in a person's life that they have to decide what they are all about. All the religious training they have received and the influence of parents who have taught them their way will come to a head. And they have to ask themselves, "Do I really believe this?" "What is it that I really believe?" "Am I believing because my parents believe it or do I have this conviction myself?"
Conversion is a change. It comes about when we embrace either what we have always believed, in which case it is a change within your own belief system, but you've finally made it your own, and you've adopted it. Or it is a conviction that something else is the way. In that case, you've "found" what you believe to hold the answer, and it wasn't what you thought it was.
This change is not merely intellectual, but something that penetrates to your very core. It is fundamental to everything you stake your life in. And it comes about individually, something that has just lit a spark in you which becomes a reality to your everyday life. The change could have occurred rapidly, or it might have developed over a course of time.
I'm interested in hearing from people who have had a "conversion experience" in whatever religious paradigm you've adopted. How it has impacted you life or the lives of those around you. What kind of changes were made as a result. It doesn't have to be earthshattering, it could be a gradual change of heart toward noblier purposes or a higher sense of life. Differences between how you conducted your life before, and how you conduct it now.
Would you be willing to share such a conversion?
Until very recently, I always regard this passage of scripture in the light of a Christian or "born-again" experience. Indeed, many evangelists will expound of this scripture to mean that one has to be saved to enter the Kingdom of God.
But upon a closer look at it, I discovered a deeper truth. I couldn't help but regard the phrase "and become as little children" and found that this is not necessarily speaking about a "Christian" conversion, but a conversion to a child. And it dawned on me that Jesus is speaking about bringing ourselves into a mindset of a little child. What does that involve?
A child has a sense of wonderment and asks a lot of questions. His/her mind is still forming the basic structures of thought and insight based on learning and experience. A child possesses a sense of trust to his/her parents, teachers, and other elders. And unlike an adult, they are not cemented in their philosophy. They are receptive to new ideas and adaptive to change.
So when Jesus is telling His disciples that they must be converted to little children, He is simply telling them that they need to strip themselves of the mindset they have been immersed in and be receptive to the things of God.
In the disciple's case, they have been orientated to 1st century Judaism. And there is nothing wrong with this, per se. But I think there is a point in a person's life that they have to decide what they are all about. All the religious training they have received and the influence of parents who have taught them their way will come to a head. And they have to ask themselves, "Do I really believe this?" "What is it that I really believe?" "Am I believing because my parents believe it or do I have this conviction myself?"
Conversion is a change. It comes about when we embrace either what we have always believed, in which case it is a change within your own belief system, but you've finally made it your own, and you've adopted it. Or it is a conviction that something else is the way. In that case, you've "found" what you believe to hold the answer, and it wasn't what you thought it was.
This change is not merely intellectual, but something that penetrates to your very core. It is fundamental to everything you stake your life in. And it comes about individually, something that has just lit a spark in you which becomes a reality to your everyday life. The change could have occurred rapidly, or it might have developed over a course of time.
I'm interested in hearing from people who have had a "conversion experience" in whatever religious paradigm you've adopted. How it has impacted you life or the lives of those around you. What kind of changes were made as a result. It doesn't have to be earthshattering, it could be a gradual change of heart toward noblier purposes or a higher sense of life. Differences between how you conducted your life before, and how you conduct it now.
Would you be willing to share such a conversion?
