14 day plan

The Kids are All Right

Day 4 of 14

NIV

Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on 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. Truly I tell you, 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, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

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.