Reflection:  I have spent a bit of my imagination on what it would have been like to meet Jesus in person. Like you, I hope I would not have been like one of the religious leaders or other naysayers at the time. But as I try to picture what it would have felt like to be in the immediate presence of God walking the earth, I have never stopped to think about doing that as a kid. Until now, as I consider being one of the children brought to Jesus. Imagine that! When I was a lad, I grew up going to church and called myself a Christian. But it took me several decades to work out the difference between knowing Jesus and knowing Jesus. So, when I look again at the famous scene of Jesus instructing his disciples to let the children come to him, I see more than Jesus giving his closest followers a public dressing-down in front of some kids. I hear Jesus helping me, and you, to enter the most wonderful realm in the universe. And all I must do is accept it in the way of the ones he wants brought to him – as a wholehearted, trusting, and wide-eyed child.

Question:  What do you think it means to be like a child who receives the kingdom of God?

Prayer:  Heavenly Father give me the humility and trust to receive your kingdom like a little child. Make clear to me when I think or act in ways that are not like the believing child Jesus upholds. Amen.