READ: Luke 18:16-17 NLT
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. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Jesus continually surprised people but his reaction to children would have been particularly astonishing to his hearers. Children had no status in law and at best they were regarded as potential adults who needed to be seen but certainly not heard. The disciples were keen to protect Jesus their rabbi from the children so that he could get on with the serious business of instructing the adults. But, as so often was the case, Jesus turned their thinking upside down. Not only did Jesus welcome the children but he said that they provided the role model for his disciples to follow.
What was Jesus getting at? He clearly wasn’t encouraging his followers to be childish. What he was affirming was that he wanted them to come to him with a spirit of openness and simplicity. The beauty of children is that they haven’t lived long enough to make life complicated. He wanted his followers to come to him with simple trust. And I feel sure that he was also wanting to encourage in them a spirit of adventure. I love seeing the delight in children’s eyes when they are experiencing something new. The Christian life is a daily adventure in which God is constantly inviting us to face new challenges and opportunities. Only a childlike attitude will do.
Jesus’ words couldn’t have been stronger. Not only were children to be the role model for every Christian disciple, but Jesus declared that if anyone refused to come like a child they would be denied entry into the Kingdom of God. That’s a very blunt message but he wants them to know that an arrogant person will never be welcomed by God. It is only as we humble ourselves like children and come to God with empty hands that he is able to bless us.




QUESTION: What do you most need to learn from the example of children?
PRAYER: Help us, Lord, to become more and more childlike as we trust ourselves to you, our loving Heavenly Father. Amen.

Released on 19 Mar 2021