In Mark 10:15, Jesus says that anyone “who does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” This text has been misunderstood in different ways through the years since Jesus has said it. One listener who had grown up with the King James Version (which translates this verse, “whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” The word “as” can mean “like”, but in this sentence it can also mean “when”; in other words, “whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God when a child…”. Within the context of the New Testament, this clearly different meaning makes no sense, because many adults come to faith in Jesus and enter God’s kingdom long after their childhood is over. But our listener remembers preachers and teachers in their church putting pressure on young children to make a declaration of faith for Christ before it was too late and they missed their childhood’s chance.

This sort of emotional pressure is, of course, unbiblical. But so is the misunderstanding of this verse’s theology. Jesus is teaching his disciples that the only way to come to him is the way a child does - with simple faith that one can receive a gift without doing anything to earn it, and an equally simple faith that Jesus meets our almost selfish need for his love and affection.