The Word This Week
Mark 10:13…
After speaking so profoundly of God’s design of marriage, and His wonderful purposes for marriage, Jesus next speaks of the intended fruit of marriage: children.
What Jesus spoke came as a result of His disciples once again incorrectly acting on Jesus’ behalf, thinking they were guarding the priority of His ministry time – which they naturally assumed was limited. There are only so many hours in a day, after all, and Jesus has more important things to do than to minister to children.
But this way of thinking made Jesus greatly displeased - as displeased as we see Jesus in any of His interactions with His disciples. Jesus was, in fact, very focused on His ministry to children.
It must have floored them when Jesus said, “for of such is the kingdom of God.”
And then Jesus declared how important it is for His disciples to learn from the example of little children as it is for little children to learn from His disciples.
In the previous chapter, Jesus had warned about providing a bad example to His children and doing anything to mislead them away from being His children.
And now He teaches them and us how important it is to observe His children to understand how easily and readily His children receive the free gift Jesus offers. No child would refuse to receive any gift they are offered. Only adults do that. When you offer a gift to a child, they have no suspicions or skepticism based on their perceived unworthiness to receive the gift. They simply receive it and are grateful for it.
If only adults could come to the saving knowledge of Christ with such abandon.
I truly believe if every child ever born had been taught about the gift of salvation Jesus offers, every child would have received that gift, and every single person in the world would be a born again Christian. What a world that would be!
We would call that world ‘heaven on earth.’
Pastor Bill
After speaking so profoundly of God’s design of marriage, and His wonderful purposes for marriage, Jesus next speaks of the intended fruit of marriage: children.
What Jesus spoke came as a result of His disciples once again incorrectly acting on Jesus’ behalf, thinking they were guarding the priority of His ministry time – which they naturally assumed was limited. There are only so many hours in a day, after all, and Jesus has more important things to do than to minister to children.
But this way of thinking made Jesus greatly displeased - as displeased as we see Jesus in any of His interactions with His disciples. Jesus was, in fact, very focused on His ministry to children.
It must have floored them when Jesus said, “for of such is the kingdom of God.”
And then Jesus declared how important it is for His disciples to learn from the example of little children as it is for little children to learn from His disciples.
In the previous chapter, Jesus had warned about providing a bad example to His children and doing anything to mislead them away from being His children.
And now He teaches them and us how important it is to observe His children to understand how easily and readily His children receive the free gift Jesus offers. No child would refuse to receive any gift they are offered. Only adults do that. When you offer a gift to a child, they have no suspicions or skepticism based on their perceived unworthiness to receive the gift. They simply receive it and are grateful for it.
If only adults could come to the saving knowledge of Christ with such abandon.
I truly believe if every child ever born had been taught about the gift of salvation Jesus offers, every child would have received that gift, and every single person in the world would be a born again Christian. What a world that would be!
We would call that world ‘heaven on earth.’
Pastor Bill