Luke 18:15-17

Written ~ 08-21-2023

Luke 18:15-17

“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. 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.’”

Depending on how you were brought up as a child, this verse might impact you in different ways. What if, when you were growing up, all you knew was that children were to be seen and not heard, to behave and not act out. How would you react to parents flooding Jesus with their children, pressing in, asking Him to touch them, to bless them. Would you react much like the disciples? Shooing those parents away, creating an atmosphere of disapproval? Unfortunately, I must confess, at times this would be my reaction. I grew up with the discipline of being seen but not heard, I was to behave and not attract attention. Luckily, God has really worked on my heart in this area, it has softened quite a bit. But, at times, that impatience rears its ugly head and I want to shoo the children away, just like the disciples did with Jesus. My husband, however, has the heart of Jesus, he loves children, he adores them, he welcomes their playful antics, doesn’t mind them crawling all over him. I admire him greatly for this attribute and I have learned a lot from him.

Jesus is teaching a very valuable truth in these verses. Verse 18:17 says,

“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Jesus is not saying we are to be childish, but to have the innocence, the eagerness of a child to learn and to accept. Have you ever watched a child interact with other children? Most of the time they are very accepting, it doesn’t matter what they look like or where they come from, they just see a friend. A child’s heart is tender, they haven’t yet been hardened by the world. A child seems to understand the presence of the Lord much more quickly than an adult. Children don’t have any preconceived ideas of what they are to believe. When the truth of Jesus is presented to a child at a very young age they grasp onto that truth and don’t let go. Understandably there are circumstances where a child’s heart can be turned away from the Lord if their upbringing does not include Christ. That’s why Jesus says in our passage today that we must come to Christ as a child. We must come to Him full of wonder, full of excitement! When the decision is made to accept Jesus as Lord, there is a moment of complete surrender, complete acceptance, and trust. If you observe a child who is weary, they have played hard and need to find rest, they crawl into the lap of their mommy or daddy and seem to melt into the comfort of their loved one. They have complete trust that they will be safe and can find rest. Isn’t that like us today? When we are weary, we’ve played hard, but now we are searching for rest, we are searching for safety and comfort. Where do we find such a thing? In the arms of the Lord. Sinking into the comfort of the Lord is like that of a child being held closely when they need rest.

As we grow and mature in the Lord, we shouldn’t lose sight of how a child’s heart comes to Jesus. We should always look to Jesus with our eyes open with wonder and excitement. We should be constantly learning and developing. We should find new ways to bring an exhilaration to the truth of God’s Word! Think of all the “firsts” that a child learns. The smile on their face when they walk those first few steps unassisted, or they squeal with delight when they accomplish a task for the very first time! What about when they eat something super tasty for the first time and they grab for more! All these things should be how we look at the Word of God! Every time we read from God’s Word, we find something new, there is a new meaning or a new excitement that causes us to burst out in excitement!

Come to Christ as a child when we are learning something new. Come to the Lord with open arms seeking His comfort. Let’s not have the attitude of only being seen, but not heard. NO! Let’s shout our praise to the Lord when our hearts are filled with His Glory! Sing and dance before the Lord like a child hyped up on sugar! We are not a bother to the Lord; we will never be pushed away… He will always say, “Come to Me…”

Thank You Lord for always wanting me to crawl into Your arms when I need rest. Thank You for allowing me to be childlike, to know I can come to You without the worry of being shooed away. Lord God, I love You and I am grateful to be Your child.

~AMEN~