Be Turned

Sometimes when I go to the Word in the passages that are prescribed by my reading project, I do not get much out of the passages that are on the list for the day.  It was like that yesterday.  Plus for some reason I actually turned to the wrong passage, but neither the one that was prescribed nor the one I read really captured me this morning.  When that happens to me, I usually either go to Psalm 119 or read around the passage that is not speaking to me.  Today I read around the passage that I turned to inadvertently.  I am glad I did.

Matthew 18:3 made me really think.  The disciples are asking Christ who will be great in the Kingdom.  Christ’s answer is interesting.  He called one of the children and says that to enter the Kingdom we have to be converted and become like a child.  They asked how to be great.  He answered how to enter.  He does go on to speak about greatness but He started with the entry.

When most of us read this or when I have heard it read, we think or explain it that we have to become like children to enter.  It is something we do.  That is not what the text says.  Literally the text says “if you are not turned,” the voice is passive.  Being turned is not something we do.  We are turned by something acting on us.  The implications are significant.  Look at passages like 1 Corinthians 1:30, Romans 8:29 – 30, Ephesians 1:3 – 6.  To really blow a gasket look at Galatians 1:13 – 17.  All of these have God working on us prior to our “choosing” to follow Him.

Then think through the product, “like a little child.”  We have three grandchildren ages 3, 1, and 3.5 months.  They are all completely dependent on their parents.  They cannot survive without aid.  They have nothing that is not provided for them.  They trust their parents completely.  That is how we have “to be turned.”

The question becomes what will it take for God to “turn us.”