The Little Children

Scripture: Luke 18:15-17

15 One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. 16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17 NLT)

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch them and bless them. The disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. Let’s not be scolders. Let’s not be harsh, over-structured, and allow ourselves to become hindrances to the little ones being able to reach Jesus. The disciples scolded the parents for bothering him! When we get too “disciplish” it’s easier to think it’s our job to be Jesus’ bodyguards and keep the riff-raff at a distance. We’re not bodyguards, we’re ushers! Little children and the parents who love them are not a bother to Jesus!

Jesus said, “Let the children (and the childlike) come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Being “like these children” doesn’t mean being “childish” (selfish, stubborn, refusing to eat your peas). It means being “childlike” (open to wonder, trusting, curious, unsophisticated).

He placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. If we represent Jesus we’re going to be blessers and touchers. Being a blesser is more than saying, “God Bless you!” Being a blesser is being empathetic, it’s being approachable, it’s removing obstacles that keep people away, it’s finding ways to bring people into Jesus’ presence.

Try to remember that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to little children and those who are like them. Let’s all be more childlike today than we were yesterday! Let’s open our eyes to wonder today—it’s springtime in the Northern Hemisphere so let’s look for signs of new life around us. Let’s appreciate the people we encounter today and listen to them, learn from them, and leave them more blessed than we found them! Let’s be curious and discover something today! Let’s be unsophisticated and childlike and smile and laugh—maybe even do something a little silly today!

Prayer:

Father, I could use a touch of blessing from Jesus today. May I be childlike enough to get close enough to be touched. And I want to bless someone else today as well! May I allow others to get close enough to be touched. For the Little Ones’ sake! Amen.