Mark 10:13-16

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.

Jesus said He only does what the Father tells him to do. Here, we see the Father telling him to pick up little children, lay his gentle hands on them and bless them. Little children have an innocence about them that is wonderful to behold. They just expect everyone to love them. Why should people not love them, for each of them knows he or she is the most important person in the world. A little one or two-year-old will go bombing around a room full of adults, believing he or she is the center of attention for everyone in the room. And many times that is true. Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. The kingdom of God belongs to those who have enough innocence, enough faith, to believe that the kingdom of God is theirs, that they are very important and God greatly loves them, and that they are in the center of his attention. Little ones have faith that people love them, that they should be loved and are very important and special.

We tend to lose that self-worth quickly. Adults soon tell us we must share the spotlight, we must not demand the center of attention, we must fit in with the rest of the community. Of course, all of that is important; those steps lead us to maturity and to harmony. But little children don't have those concepts yet. They think they are the most important person in the room. God loves us exactly in that way. When Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, God grieved. If we don't believe we are the apple of God's eye, we will tend not to have faith when life gets difficult. We will not grasp his divine being with loving arms that will not let go. We will not say to him, "You are all I need." Our insecurities, our feelings of unloveliness, our lack of self-worth will stifle our relationship with God. We will always be trying to please him, trying to get close to him, not realizing that we are pleasing to him, that we are loved just as we are. Children expect to be loved in this way. When they wrap their arms around your neck with a great big hug, they are saying, "I love you because you love me so much. I know I am special to you just as I am." Their love is so expansive and deep, for they love you just as you are, just because you are and expect the same love in return.

I am often amazed that my grandchildren love me so much. I am old, ugly, dark circles around my eyes, wrinkles everywhere, and I'm too fat. I am a scary looking person. Yet, they love me greatly. I sometimes consider their uncompromising love and think, "I would not love me as they do." However, this is the kind of love that God desires from us. God is not ugly in any way, but sometimes we struggle in life because we think God is not fair or He doesn't care what is happening to us. We seemingly find him "ugly," distant, or not worth loving because our personal journey is so difficult, so hard to understand. But God desires us to love him passionately even though we are struggling. He wants our "little arms" to squeeze his neck in love, in faith, believing He loves us with an endearing, everlasting love just because we are. He knows we doubt, we fail, we struggle in our belief, but He still wants us to come to him and say with a great big hug, "You are all I need." Jesus said in the above passage, I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Of course, what do you do when you receive a child's mighty hug of love? You naturally reciprocate. You say something like this, "You are so lovely, so good, I love you so. You bring happiness to my heart." Of course, we, the apple of God's eye, bring happiness to God's heart when we love him with our whole mind, soul and being. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30) This is your privilege and your joy today, child of God!