Love the Children!

Christian Devotional by Pastor Cecil Thompson

Mark 10:13-16

“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.”

Let me start today’s E-Votional by describing our group of believers that gather on Sunday mornings. It is a small group of people that seldom attended church, or for some reason were not comfortable in traditional churches.

We use the pattern of worship for the early believers as described in Acts 2:42. There is the teaching of God’s Word, prayer, breaking of bread and fellowship. It is a very family oriented and relaxed as we search God’s Word and apply the teachings to our life.

Two weeks ago we were in an interesting discussion of what a passage meant when I noticed a small 18 month old girl with a pacifier in her mouth, standing directly in front of me and looking up. She raised her hands up to me, so being my grandfatherly sort, I picked her up. She immediately laid her face against my cheek and totally relaxed as we continued discussing the meaning of passages and how they apply to us.

Since then I have thought about how Jesus had responded to the small children who broke into His teaching ministry. He was not upset at the parents or children who crowded around Him, but at His disciples who tried to push them away. “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.” That means that our Lord was very displeased with the disciples.

I absolutely adore kids and delight in teaching them about Jesus. According to our Scripture for today, that is what Jesus wants us to do. It may be a bit here or a bit there—or even holding a wee girl in the middle of my message—but we all should care for the children.

One of our mothers called last week to express her concern about how to protect children from being harmed. She told me of a program that equips parents, grandparents or other caregivers to keep children safe. Here is the website if you would like to check it out: www.childshieldusa.com/bdorsey

There are children of all ages around us. Some may be young in years while others may be young spiritually. We call them “baby Christians.” The sad thing is that baby Christians may have received a spiritual birth years and years ago, but just never grew up. Part of that may be our fault because we never took the time to stop and share Jesus with them.

My prayer is that we will open our eyes and see that we have a world of children around us who are holding up their hands. They may have a pacifier in their mouth, begging us to hold them close and tell them about Jesus. Will you respond to them?

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.

— Pastor Cecil