I LOVE this verse! The more I think about it, the more it impacts me!

Just previous to this verse, Jesus was condemning the unrepentant cities where he had acted the majority of his miracles: Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. To these cities Christ promised that the cities of Sodom and Tyre would fare better in the Judgement. Remember Sodom? God rained down sulfur on Sodom in judgement, thereby destroying the city and killing everyone in it (Genesis19:23-25). You can also read of the prophet Ezekiel's prophecy of the complete destruction of Tyre in Ezekiel 26:7-11.

These were two wicked cities which God caused to be completely destroyed so arguably "got what they deserved." But Kroazin, Behsaida, and Capernaum were populated by religious Jews!  Imagine what must have gone through the minds of the Jewish people when Christ told them that the inhabitants of Sodom and Tyre would fare better in the judgement than they would! 

Indeed, Christ performed so many miracles in these three towns: the blind received sight, the lame walked, those with leprosy were healed, the deaf were made to hear, and even the dead were raised (Mtt 11:5)! Praise God! Yet those who saw all these great signs of God's marvelous power faltered and did not believe. Christ himself tell us that those who exercise such a hardening of their hearts to what is right before their eyes will be judged more harshly than the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Tyre. In John 20:29 we read that those who have not seen and yet believe are blessed, but woe to those who have seen and yet stand firmly in their unbelief.

What does this have to do with children? Everything! In Matthew 18:1-5 we learn than in order to be great in God's kingdom, we must be converted and become like children. The Greek word translated as "converted" is strepho, which means to turn completely around, to make an "about face," to turn and go in the opposite direction. The word translated as "children" is "paidion" which means infant or small child. So to be great in God's kingdom, we must make an about face from the direction we are headed and become like and infant. 

Infants and toddlers adore their parents. They want nothing more than to spend time with their parents and have their needs met. Indeed, the need for love and attention from their parents is as primal a need as the needs for food and warmth. Look at the infant gazing into his mother's eyes and he feeds at the breast. See the toddler clamor all over daddy as he walks through the door at the end of the day. Children crave the loving attention of their parents. The emptiness created within a child from the the withholding of such love can damage a child for a lifetime.

So let's revisit Matthew 11:25. Jesus thanks his Father for revealing certain truths to little children. In this application it is possible Christ was speaking of those young in the faith, whose spiritual eyes the Lord has opened to spiritual truth which can only be revealed by the Spirit. But I think there is another meaning as well. At this time the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent into the world to inhabit believers. I think Jesus had a more literal meaning in this passage. 

I believe we should watch children more closely. Children don't require that their parents perform miracles, they just want to spend time with them. As believers, we should seek to relate to our Heavenly Father as infants and young children relate to their earthly parents. We should hunger for all spiritual nourishment coming from our loving Father. We should run to meet our Father, to spend time with Him, to learn from Him. We should trust his guidance and go where he sends us. We should be obedient for we know that a loving father imparts rules for our own safety. This is wisdom that young children inherently know but we tend to forget as we grow. Do not lose that fervency! Seek out your Abba Father, laugh with him, play with him, abide in him, adore him. Run to him for his blessing. Go where he leads. 

As parents we endeavor to teach our children, but what are they trying to teach us?  We should pay closer attention, for the Lord of heaven and earth has revealed truth to these most blessed.