It's Not Fair: The Often Surprising And Always Amazing Grace Of GodSample

Sometimes people think kids are a nuisance. They think they’re too loud or too energetic or that they’re just getting in the way. Sometimes people thought like that when Jesus was alive, too. The disciples didn’t want people to “bother” Jesus with babies or little children. They thought Jesus should be free to focus on adults without distractions.

But Jesus welcomes little children. Just like Jesus uplifts the poor and oppressed and the rule-keepers and the sinners, Jesus also uplifts children. He thinks they are an important part of His kingdom. Not only does Jesus welcome the little children in today’s passage, He also says something unusual. He says that to receive His kingdom, people must receive it like a little child.

Jesus doesn’t say exactly what He means when He says we need to be “like a child.” But given the context of this story (directly following yesterday’s passage, which emphasized the humility of the tax collector) it is likely that He means the humility of little children. Kids can’t do much on their own. They have to trust the adults around them to provide what they need. Similarly, we must be humble when we receive the kingdom of God. We have to remember that we cannot earn it. It is given to us as a gift, like how a parent gives things to their child.

Remember that God thinks you are a valuable member of His kingdom, no matter what your age is! What is one way you can receive the kingdom like a child today and humbly thank God for the things He has given you?