Sunny Days Ahead

By Alessandra Velsor

“‘For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.’ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.”—Matthew 19:12–15 (NIV)

In a world that often opts to shun children from weddings, vacation destinations, airplanes, and so on, Jesus not only accepts little children, He invites them into His kingdom. In Matthew 18:3 (NIV), when the disciples ask Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus responds, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In today’s passage, we’re reminded of how much Jesus loved to be surrounded by children and wanted to bless them—even right after a conversation about eunuchs! This scene may seem misplaced, but you see, the Pharisees were at it once again.

In the beginning of Matthew 19, the Pharisees wanted to see if Jesus sided with the lax man-made rules or the more strict ones regarding the permissibility of divorce. If Jesus chose the strict rules, He could lose His following, and if He chose the not-so strict ones, He would be defying the Law of Moses. The Pharisees had Jesus right where they wanted Him! Jesus’ response turns this debate back into a conversation about the significance of marriage. Then the disciples inquired about celibacy, which turned the conversation into eunuchs, or men who’ve opted to remain celibate through their ministry, or men who were born with the inability to have sex, or men who were castrated by choice to devote themselves to God. Yikes!

I don’t know why, but this is when parents decided it would be a proper time to bring their children to Jesus. Perhaps they didn’t want the conversation to escalate, but Jesus welcomed the interruption despite His disciples’ rebuke. As a parent, there’s nothing sweeter than bringing your children to Jesus—bringing them to church or even bringing them to get baptized per their own request. I still remember when my oldest accepted Jesus into his heart in his bedroom when he was only four years old. Four years later, Joshua insisted on getting baptized. We fought it that morning because we weren’t sure he was ready. When I asked him why he wanted to be baptized right then, he said he knew he needed to do it to solidify his decision from four years ago.

Just like our children, we’re His children! After having my daughter, I struggled with postpartum depression. One evening, I went for a walk to talk to God about how I had been feeling lately—and I only recall the silence was deafening. I went to bed a bit disheartened only to be woken up a few times by my eight-month-old vomiting in her crib. I was afraid to go back to sleep, so I sat in my recliner and held her all night to soothe her. Sunny wasn’t crying anymore, instead she fully rested in my arms. God didn’t speak to me during that walk earlier, and He certainly didn’t speak to me the way I expected, but He gave me this picture of Himself holding me like I was carrying my Sunny girl. It’s beautiful how He uses our parenting to remind us of His love for us.

Friends, the way we want to be there for our children, He wants to be there for us—holding us through our darkest nights and into our sunny days ahead!

Pause: Why do you think the disciples rebuked the parents who brought their children to Jesus?

Practice: Meditate on Matthew 18:1–5. What are steps you can take to become childlike in faith?

Pray: Father, thank You I can come to You when there’s light and when it’s dark in my life. There are times I don’t hear You, but I know You see me and You’re waiting for the right moment to make Your presence known. I trust You, Lord. Help me become more childlike in my faith and for our relationship to get closer as I grow in my faith and look forward to those sunny days ahead! Amen.