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 desires to bless little children. He was INDIGNANT when He saw his disciples preventing the little children from receiving his blessing. This scene shows the heart of God, who wants to bless those who place their innocent faith in him. Young children have a simple faith: they believe their parents can do everything and know everything about life. They believe existence will go on forever and what they are doing in the present will always remain the same. Their parents will always be big and powerful, and they will always remain small and safe. Their parents will always take care of them, and they will never be left alone to fend for themselves. LITTLE CHILDREN have great faith in a consistent world. Later, probably too soon, we realize our parents are not omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent beings. Death, weakness, powerlessness, ignorance, sickness, discord, dishonesty, faithlessness, and the like seep into our existence. Knowledge and experience teach us, and we learn that no one in this finite existence can be trusted to have the ultimate answers to life, not even our parents. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Jesus was looking for childlike faith as He walked this earth. When He told his disciples of the man who wanted to tear down his barns to build bigger ones to hold all his crops, and then his soul was required of him, Jesus said they should not worry about tomorrow, what they would eat or what they would wear. If God takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies in the field, surely He would care for them. Then He said, O you of little faith! And He warned them to set their hearts on things above. (See Luke 12:16-40) Little ones have the faith Jesus sought, the faith necessary to unlock the gates to heaven or to reveal the way to the Kingdom of God. And unless we all approach God in this innocent and faith-filled manner, we will not see the gates of Heaven open to us. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
Jesus Christ is the gate, the way to light and life in this world and in the world that is to come. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:7-10) Christ alone allows us to enter into the Kingdom of God. He alone took a fallen creation and made us holy, acceptable to God. Without passing through the blood of redemption, we cannot enter into the presence of God. Yet we who were lost are now found. As Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:7-8) The little children came to Jesus because their parents believed that this man of kindness and goodness, Jesus, could bless their children in a miraculous way. They had faith, but the faith the children had in Jesus was much greater than the parent's. The parents believed HE COULD bless them, but the children believed He would bless them. An innocent child believes life is straightforward, sensible, and stable. Things are supposed to be eternal and lasting, with a consistency that is predictable. Otherwise, they have complete faith in the way things are and ought to be. Older children and adults learn life is not alway harmonious and stable and they do not know about eternity, for their experiences often teach them there is little peace or comfort and a great deal of anxiety in their lives. Doubt and fear eat away at their faith, and they lose track of the childlike wonderment that once held sway over their thinking.
Little children, when they are but babies or toddlers, believe they are at home in this existence because for them this life is eternal. They have complete faith in this assumption, but adults, Christian or not, know this life as a temporary existence. Jesus said we must have faith as a little child. We must believe that our eternal home rests in him. We must believe without doubting that He is the gate to OUR PERMANENT home. Jesus spoke these words of truth: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) We must believe that our anxieties and fears will all be satisfied completely when we enter our eternal home, when we see him. We must trust that He has all the answers to existence and creation. We must believe that every tear of doubt and fear will be wiped from our faces when we see him. We must believe He has the answers to the questions for all time. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4) Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for their type of faith opens the Kingdom of God to all people. When people put their whole faith and trust in me without doubting, they will see God and be with him forever as his children in eternal bliss. When the disciples asked who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus brought a child before them and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4)
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