Louise Gevers

"Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, but Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 18:15-16

Blessing is a very beautiful action because it’s wholehearted and asks for God to favour and protect the person receiving it. We bless others because we care about them and want the very best for them, so it’s not surprising that the people wanted their precious children to receive God’s favour, and so brought their babies to Jesus for Him to bless them.

Although His disciples tried to turn them away, Jesus welcomed them with open arms. In all probability the disciples thought Jesus too busy or too dignified, as a Rabbi, to be bothered with the littlest ones of society, but Jesus took the babies’ part, reprimanded the grumpy disciples for their actions, and then taught them an important lesson on Kingdom priorities:

Children are very important to God. "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a real blessing," says the Psalmist. (Psalm127:3) He makes each one’s conception possible and creates each part of them when He knits them together in their mothers’ wombs; He sees them developing. (Psalm 139:13-16) They have an important part to play in His Kingdom which shows that no-one is too young or insignificant in God’s eyes to be loved by Him and welcomed as His child.

People often think of children as unimportant in the big scheme of things, but Jesus immediately asserts that children are important and the model to follow for anyone who wants to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. “Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17)

What strikes us when we look at a baby is that it is innocent, vulnerable, and completely transparent about its needs – no matter how basic – and it’s always ready to receive love, comfort and care. A baby only knows it has needs; it doesn’t know anything about wants, greed, envy, hatred or other unlovely things. For us to receive the Kingdom of Heaven we have to be completely transparent and vulnerable with God; we need to drop our pretences and facades and depend on Him completely, like a child depends on his father.

In his letter Peter urged the Christians to "Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved." (1 Peter 2:2)

Prayer: Loving Father, thank You that children are precious to You and that You never turn them away, but bless them to be a blessing. May we treasure our children too, and bring them to You. Help me always to be childlike in my faith and to value pure spiritual milk that I may truly grow in Your Kingdom and be an encouragement to those who do not yet know you. Amen.