Mark 10:13-16 (NIV): People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “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.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
It was understandable that the disciples wanted to be protective of Jesus. He was almost continually surrounded by people wanting something from Him, continually beset by those who had important things to talk to Him about. These were just parents wanting Jesus to touch and bless their children. Surely Jesus had better things to do than to deal with a bunch of kids! So they blocked the way and wouldn’t let the parents bring the children to Jesus.
As soon as Jesus realized what was going on, He was indignant. What did they think they were doing!? He told the disciples, “Don’t stop the children; let them come to me. Let the parents bring them over here.” Jesus wasn’t put off at all by these parents or by their children. He wasn’t too busy for them at all. “The kingdom of God belongs to people like these.”
No one was sure whether Jesus meant the children or the parents by this statement. Actually, it is true for both. The parents demonstrated a couple of key characteristics of people who live in the kingdom of God:
- Faith: They brought their children to Jesus for a touch because they had faith that the touch would have an overwhelmingly positive effect on their lives.
- Evangelistic Impulse: They believed in Jesus (or else they would not have brought their children to be blessed by Him), and they wanted to bring their children into contact with Him, even at an early age.
The children also demonstrated characteristics of the people of God’s kingdom:
- Trust: The children came to Jesus and let Him bless them. They were innocent enough to not worry that He would hurt them.
- Poverty: The children would never try to earn or pay for the blessing that Jesus gave them. They had nothing that would even come close to paying back even a small portion of His blessing. So they simply received what Jesus had for them, with no thought of whether or not they deserved it.
- A teachable spirit: Children are like sponges, readily learning everything that anyone is willing to teach them.
It was these last three characteristics that Jesus had in mind when He said, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
- We must trust, believing that when Jesus opens the door to the kingdom for us, that everything he is offering us is for our good, never for our harm. We must also trust that anything He requires us to leave at the door must be left behind for our good.
- We must come in poverty, realizing that there is nothing that we could ever do that would make us good enough for salvation, or that can pay Jesus back for His sacrifice. “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” (From Rock of Ages)
- We must come with a teachable spirit, willing to lay down all we think we know of God, of His kingdom, and even of how to live our lives. We must be completely open to learning about God and about His ways directly from the Holy Spirit.
Father, I thank You that You didn’t make Your blessings available only to the scholars and theologians. You made it available to the little children, all of us who love You for Yourself, who trust You for all that You promise, and who, out of our own poverty, come to You to receive the blessings of Your kingdom, so that we can learn from You. Amen.