An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. (Luke 9: 46)
An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.” (Luke 9: 46-50)
Contrary to the worldly mentality that sees power only as dominion over others, Jesus teaches us that to be great we must be small. In other words, being powerful means being humble. This brings us back to the importance and respect for children, given that in Jesus' time (and perhaps in ours as well) the small and defenceless were seen as objects to be used at will. Hence, following Jesus' means loving Him to the point of denying our own importance in order to make room for humble persons in our lives and to become humble ourselves.