At one time, the disciples went to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them.  And he said "I tell you the truth, unless you change and became like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The point in emphasis is outward humility and respectability.  The Lord wanted them to break away from the social conventional standard. Jesus told his disciples that those who want to enter the heavenly kingdom must change and become like little children.

Does one change from an adult to a little child?  Physically it is impossible.  Just like Nicodemus asked the Lord, how can a man reenter his mother's womb when he is old?  Jesus answered, “Unless a man is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  Therefore, be like little children means to be born again in the spiritual sense.  The old is gone, and everything becomes new.  But the old is like a magnet, sometimes we are so reluctant to give away.  Often we do not know what to do judging by the value of the world especially when we do not know the value of our Lord Jesus.  Can we speak like Paul saying that knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things especially when we stand in front of people who are against our beliefs?  Fame, profit and nobility parade in front of us tempting us to surrender to them, can our attitude be like that of little children who do not understand or care for the vain glories nor envy the undependable riches of this world.

Lord Jesus further explained "become like little children' means that we have to humble ourselves.  Humility is related to entering the heavenly kingdom because by being humble a person sees his insufficiency and inability to rely on himself to be justified before God (Gal 3:11).  We need to ask for the assistance from God and his Holy Spirit, so that when we perform good deeds, we will not be self-righteous like the Pharisee.  We must serve others regardless of their position or status.  We must learn to offer greater hospitality and love.  To welcome a child is to welcome our Lord.  The Lord judges by our heart not by our appearance.  True humility implies that we empty ourselves of pride and prejudice and serve others with a gladness of the heart not posing for vain admiration or praise from people but asking for God's blessing in all we do and seeking after His glory.