GOAT is an acronym in sports that defines the greatest sport athletes of all time. The acronym stands for Greatest of All Time. The term was first coined by Muhammad Ali in the 1960s when he relentlessly called himself the Greatest Boxer of All Time. Today GOAT is synonymous with athletes, in their respective sport, who hold the greatest accomplishments and statistics. The GOAT debate is one of the many reasons we love watching sports. We love to witness an athlete show up in clutch moments and accomplish what we never thought was possible. If you’ve ever been in or have listened to a GOAT debate then you might recognize names like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Lebron James, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods.
In Matthew 18:1 we witness the first GOAT debate that ever took place. On their way to a village called Capernum, Jesus’ disciples began arguing amongst one another about “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The disciples cannot come to a resolution, so they pose the question to Jesus. To their surprise, Jesus called a little child over, and placed the child among them, and he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4)
Jesus could have easily answered the question by saying “I AM the GOAT.” And he would have had reason to back up his answer. His stats and accomplishments speak for itself: Jesus performed a total of 37 miracles (most ever by any human), he came up clutch “at just the right time and died for us sinners.” And he accomplished the impossible when he resurrected from the dead to prove his divinity. Jesus had every reason to call himself the GOAT but instead he calls a child the GOAT.
What Jesus is getting at with his response is, whoever has the qualities of a child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. So then what are the qualities of a child that makes them great? To back up Jesus’ GOAT stance I want to share the qualities that make a child great by using C.H.I.L.D as an acronym:
C— A child is curious. Children are full of curiosity, they question everything. “Why is the sky blue?” “Who made that?” Or everyone’s favorite “Where do babies come from?” In the same way, Jesus wants us to develop this same childlike curiosity about Him. We need to question everything about who Jesus is because it's the only way we get to know him better. It’s almost like a game of hide-and-seek, Jesus desires us to seek after Him wholeheartedly (Jeremiah 29:13) because when we find Him, we’ll find everything we’ve been looking for.
H––A child is helpless. Children depend on their caregivers, they cannot survive without them. I love this quote from Hip-Hop artist Lecrae: “Here’s the dope part about being a kid. You don’t understand the financial concerns, the job stress, or how you’ll eat at night. You trust your caretaker to handle that. You just follow their lead and let them carry the burden. Interestingly enough God is asking us to act like kids today. Follow his lead, trust him to provide and carry the weight.” Jesus wants us to depend on Him like children depend on their caregivers. He does not want us to rely on our own strength. He wants us to know that apart from Him, we cannot survive. (John 15:5) (Matthew 11:28-30).
I—A child is imitable. One of the coolest things about being a dad is that my son does everything I do. However, I have seen this backfire. I remember a time after an argument with my wife, I said to her, “I told you so.” My son watching and clinging to every word repeated “I told you so mama.” Definitely not one of my best dad moments. Children reflect what they see and hear. Jesus desires an imitable quality out of us so that we can imitate his character. The Apostle Paul laid this out for us: “Imitate God in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ” (Ephesians 5:1).
L––A child loves. A child loves easy, just offer them a toy or candy and they will love you forever. This is probably the reason why we tell our children not to accept things from strangers. One of Jesus’ top commandments is to “love one another” no matter how difficult it can be (John 15:12). I always remind myself that Jesus also washed the feet of Judas–the man that betrayed him. Talk about loving your enemies! Like children, Jesus desires us to develop a quality of love for those around us.
D––A child is daring. There is a certain age when children do not have a sense of fear. They will do the most daring things like jump off the couch, touch a hot stove, fit inside a dryer or climb on top of the highest dresser. At a certain age children tend to not be afraid because they don’t know about the consequences of their actions. In the Bible the words “do not be afraid” is repeated 365 times. Remember the story about the disciples in the boat during a storm? The storm nearly killed them but Jesus calmed the storm and told them “do not be afraid” because he was right there with them. No matter what you’re going through today, like a child, know that “God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, love and self control” and that he walks with you every step of the way (2 Timothy 1:7).
Let me conclude with a word of caution. Jesus tells us, in order to be great we must develop childlike qualities. Not childish qualities. I often see childlike qualities in my son but there are times I see childish qualities. Paul explains this best, “when I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” (1 Cor 13:11). As followers of Jesus there must be a maturation process that takes place in us. We cannot revert to the old ways of doing things, we must grow. One of the best ways to grow in our faith is to simply talk to Jesus. This song by elevation worship “Talking to Jesus” has been an anthem for my son and I:
“Just start talking to Jesus
Just start talking to Jesus
You can talk to Jesus
Oh, whenever you like,
There's no wrong way to do it. There's no bad time to start. It don't have to sound pretty
Just tell Him what's on your heart
'Cause it's not a religion
'Cause it's more like a friendship
Just talk to your Father
Like you are his kid.” — (Song by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music)
Be a kid today.
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