Repentance
February 23, 2015 | By Stacy Abraham
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “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.”Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
[Mark 10:13-16]
Reading over this passage of scripture, I wondered why the disciples reacted in such a way to these families. It’s easy to look at the story and think, why in the world would the disciples want to prevent these precious children from seeing Jesus! But then the planner in me thinks these children were probably not perfectly quiet and lined up waiting to be blessed by Jesus. More likely, they were probably running around excited to see Him. Maybe they didn’t have the “proper reverence” that the disciples thought they should have when encountering their Lord and thought it would be a bother to Him. Let’s take a step back. As adults, are we better suited to approach our Lord than a child? Is it because of our extra knowledge or ability to control ourselves in social situations that Jesus would be more pleased to entertain adults in His presence? The truth of the matter is that God understands who we are; that we are like mist here today and gone tomorrow. Yet He cares deeply for us and finds value in His creation, young and old. God does not require perfection before we can approach him; He desires for us to step into His light so that we can be changed! Read More
