PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Mark 10:13-16
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“He took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark 10:16)
This picture of Jesus appeals to me, welcoming the children.
Too often in my experience of church, children are meant to be seen, not heard.
We force them to be quiet it church so we can concentrate.
Or we give them a children’s moment, then shoo them off to children’s church.
I recall a visiting mom sitting in the very back with her crying child.
A friend sitting next to her was horrified by all the darks looks she got.
The message was clear, your child belongs in the babysit, not here.
This strikes me as the same as the disciples rebuking these parents.
When I imagine God’s family room, I imagine kids being there too.
Running, laughing, playing, making noise and being seen and heard.
They will be part of the moment, and not sent away by adults to the playroom.
The kids and adults will all feel welcome, and blessed, and enjoy each other.
Children need this affirming blessing to grow up into healthy adulthood.
I wonder if many adult children still feel unwelcome, unloved, unblessed?
PRAYER
Lord, forgive us for shooing the kids away. Help us to see how kids, like us, are an important part of life in your kingdom! We need them and they need us!
Lord help me have a childlike mindset without childish behaviour. Help me understand the simple truths in your Word and teachings that elude the most complex minds of the world. Thank you for making your good news simple to understand and embrace.
May I have childlike faith and trust. A grandchild of mine will jump from a tree knowing that I will catch her or him. They trust me. The children that came to Jesus were likely told be their parents that he was a rabbi – a holy man – and so their parents brought them to Jesus. The children may have been afraid – but they trusted their parents and they trusted Jesus. I too need to trust Jesus fully – even when circumstances in life might turn for worse! Grow my trust Lord!
All are welcome.
No one is unimportant to Jesus.
The children are not a nuisance to Him. All are precious in His sight.
Child like faith. Open and willing and sharing and trusting.
I need to be like a child coming to Him drawn into His presence.
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children
Of the world
Jesus died for all the children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus died for all the children
Of the world.
Jesus rose for all the children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus rose for all the children
Of the world