¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Little Children

Little children are trusting and obedient.  In ancient culture little children were seen as property who had not yet gained status or value because they were not adults.  Adults had value because they helped the family to make a living.

Children have value because they are made in the image of God.  THeir spiritual sensibilities give evidence of something beyond the mere physical realm.  Children can also call us back to profound, simple faith which we lose as we develop a hard heart over the years.  Those who raise or teach children find that they modify their behavior for the good around children.  There is something innocent about children that we want to preserve.

Following Jesus develops trust in the Father.  We become obedient to God’s commands because we cease having to prove our autonomy.  We realise that we wee always truly dependent upon God, so we just let that be.  We look for ways to stop pleasing ourselves but to increase pleasing our Father.

Questions

1. What was the disciples’ reaction to people bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed?
2. What was Jesus’ reaction to his disciples?
3. Why was Jesus’ reaction unusual?
4. How have you grown up and become independent of your Heavenly Father?
5. How can you move closer to God with childlike faith?