The Bible tells us about the time when Jesus and His disciples were followed by a large crowd as He taught the people and healed their sicknesses. As He was doing this ministry, the disciples went around telling parents and their kids — ‘This is not a place for children’. But when Jesus saw what His disciples were doing, the bible says, Jesus becomes – “indignant” (basically outraged). The word used for Jesus’ outrage indicates the expression of great emotion. To Jesus, the idea that He was teaching important things which didn’t include the children was greatly upsetting. Jesus then proceeded to scold His disciples for “hindering” the children from coming to Him.
“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14)
We know Jesus calls all people from all ages to come to Him, “God so loves the world”. Yet,
Jesus indicates there is something special about children. Jesus says next:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”” (Mark 10:15)
Calling the children to himself, Jesus says in effect, ‘Look at this child, he doesn’t question me, he knows he doesn’t understand it all, but with eyes filled with hope, the heart of the child opens wide and an uncluttered, uncomplicated faith eagerly comes to life.’
When my children were much younger, I’d tell them bedtime stories. Sometimes they were
bible stories like Noah and the flood or Jonah and the whale. Other times I’d tell them an ‘oldie but goodie’ – Goldilocks or Little Red Riding Hood. Then there were the times when I’d tell them a story I made up. Whenever I’d tell my kids a story they hadn’t heard before – if it starts sounding unbelievable – one of my younger kids would invariably interrupt before I got too far in the story and ask, “Dad, is this story in the bible?” To ask the question was to know if this story was make-believe or if the story was true. If I tell them that the story is found in the Bible then they settle in and no matter how unbelievable the story might be, if it’s in the Bible, they are assured in their own minds that the story I tell them is true. That’s the simple uncluttered heart of a child.
When Jesus saw his disciples hinder the children from coming, it ticked Jesus off because the faith of a child was the living example of the faith He seeks in us – simple, uncluttered, honest, and real. It was the children who had a faith that didn’t need all the answers because they realized as a little kid they couldn’t possibly know and understand everything. They simply believed God is great and God is good … and that was enough.
Pastor Mark
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