Luke 18:15-17 (NIV) People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
It was (and still is) common for parents to bring their children to people who are reputed to be holy so that they can be blessed by him or her. These people brought their children to Jesus not for healing, but simply so that they could receive a blessing.
Jesus was always surrounded by people crushing in on Him, trying to get their needs met, so sometimes the disciples were a little over protective, trying to shoo away those whose needs did not seem urgent. And healthy children waiting to be blessed seemed to them to definitely fall far down on the list of those who needed access to Jesus.
Jesus Himself, though, took a different view. His view, the viewpoint of the kingdom, was frequently different than that of His followers. When Jesus saw these children, He didn’t see an annoyance or a burden. He saw young people whose whole worldview was bathed in trust and innocence. He saw young people who did not live in rebellion against God, but who greeted every new discover of God’s creation with awe and wonder. Instead of an annoyance, these children were the very model of the innocence and awe that is to typify the people of the kingdom, and so were to be welcomed and blessed, both as people in their own right, and as models to be emulated.
Children can be corrupted, they can be emotionally damaged and scarred to the point that they lose those natural characteristics of the kingdom. And if they are, those responsible for the damage will be judge and held accountable by God personally. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:6-7, “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!”
Father, it is so easy to push past children in their innocence and awe without seeing them as models for us as kingdom people. And it is easy for us to be so preoccupied and distracted by our projects, our jobs, our stuff, and even our ministries, that we lose that innocence and awe ourselves, and never realize it. Help me, Lord, to actively cultivate that childlike spirit in myself, so that I can walk and work in Your kingdom every day. Amen.