Daily Devotional for Friday 14th June
Child-like Faith
Whenever I read this story of Jesus it brings back memories of a children’s Bible I had when I was little and a beautiful picture of Jesus, surrounded by perfectly behaved, angelic children with their mothers close by, beaming with pride! I’m not too sure this was quite a true reflection!
Perhaps, like me, you have a picture in your mind of a group of mums taking their toddlers on an exciting day out to go and see if they can find Jesus, but in actual fact, it would have been the fathers who were bringing the children. In the culture of the day, fathers had the responsibility of taking their children to a Rabbi to be blessed and dedicated to God and the word ‘bringing’ here is actually the word used to bring a sacrifice to God as a way of dedicating yourself to Him. The dads are wanting to bring their children up as followers of Jesus.
What amazes me about this scene, is that it happens as Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem - He knows He is facing crucifixion, but even during this time of emotional agony, He still finds time for the children. They are important to Him; He wants them to come to Him so He can bless them and dedicate them to a life of discipleship.
I wonder why the disciples were trying to stop people. Perhaps they were trying to protect Jesus’ time and space, maybe they just wanted some more time alone with Him, like they had been used to, or maybe they still hadn’t grasped the lesson about who truly is the greatest? Either way, Jesus is indignant with His disciples when they try and stop people from bringing the children to Him.
Jesus wants the children to come, He says the ‘kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’ He is teaching His disciples that the discipleship of children and young people are the very heartbeat of the mission of the God. If we are to reflect the heart of Jesus in our church, we must be constantly striving to find new and creative ways to encourage children to come to Him.
But Jesus is teaching His disciples more than that, He’s saying that we need to receive the kingdom of God like a little child if we are to enter it. We must be willing to learn from them, because they teach us so much! Children teach us how to be playful, simplistic, trusting, honest before God and dependent on Him to provide all we need.
Time to reflect…
Is there a particular child or young person you can pray for today? Perhaps you are a Godparent? Take some time to pray for their discipleship journey. How can you support and encourage them in their relationship with Jesus?
What child-like qualities do you love to see? How can you begin to adopt some of these more in your relationship with Jesus?
Pause to pray….
Lord Jesus, you teach us that your kingdom belongs to children such as these. Help us not to hinder their coming to you, but instead to look for ways we can encourage them in their faith. Thank you for the joy they bring to our lives and for all they can teach us about how we should come to you. Amen.
