When the children were first brought to Jesus, the disciples felt this would bother the Lord. Did they consider this act of compassion beneath the character of their teacher? Why would the disciples decide that Jesus did not have time to fret about young children? The text tells us they rebuked the ones who brought the children to the dismay of the Lord. Jesus rebuked the disciples and instructed them not to forbid them.<\/p>\n
Often, we want children to be seen and not heard. Like the disciples, we decide they would be more of a bother to the cause of Christ than help. Little children must be brought to Jesus and shown how much He cares for them. They are examples of the character that God’s children are to be. Children must be taught to be reverent and enjoy a time of worship. This begins in the home by showing the children the story of God and the Son of God and the majesty of the word of God. Paul commended Timothy for his faith, referring to his childhood as a basis for his devotion to God. “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus<\/em>” (II Timothy 3:15).<\/p>\n Our young people are not the church of tomorrow but the church of today. We must encourage them to show others the meaning of trusting in Jesus and to let their lives be filled with the image of God. Young children need to be taught the Bible stories. They can memorize multitudes of verses and songs, and so often, from the mouths of babes, we learn truths we have forgotten. “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength<\/em>” (Psalms 8:2). Bring the children to Jesus because He has time for them.<\/p>\n Jesus Welcomes the Children Luke 18:15-17<\/p><\/div>\n In His rebuke to the disciples, He reminds them the heart of a disciple is that of a child. Matthew writes, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 18:1-4). The Master Teacher used a powerful example to bring His point home. The disciples worried about who was going to receive the most important position in the “kingdom” and argued about greatness. Take a moment to visualize the lesson. Jesus looks around, sees a little child, and asks the child to come. The child approaches the Lord, and He lifts him up and sets before the grown adults their object lesson. They may not have understood what He was doing, but He did.<\/p>\n Jesus loves children because they represent the true nature of His disciples. They do not argue about greatness nor fret about positions of grandeur. The humble character of a child will bring trust, faithfulness, purity, and all those characteristics that hinder adults from trusting God. Children believe with unmerited devotion. Paul explained this kind of humility in Philippians 2:1-11. The humble character of young children tempers our attitudes and feelings toward others. Jesus loves children, and so should we. And we must always put them in our midst to remind us of the lessons from Jesus.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kent Heaton via Biblical Insight, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 There are many scenes in which Jesus Christ is the imminent teacher of multitudes, advisor to noblemen, powerful Creator calming a storm, or the great physician healing and raising the dead. His wrath and fury are felt with a whip of cords driving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[110,448],"class_list":["post-83530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-children","tag-church"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12981,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-when-paul-said-we-are-by-nature-children-of-wrath\/","url_meta":{"origin":83530,"position":0},"title":"What is meant when Paul said we are by nature children of wrath?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Ephesians 2:3 it talks about by nature we are children of wrath, My own opinion is that it's referring not to children, which is plain and clear, but to people who have already sinned. I'm trying to get this point across to my friend, but he believes in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8717,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-families-with-small-children-sit-in-the-back-pews\/","url_meta":{"origin":83530,"position":1},"title":"Should families with small children sit in the back pews?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently a congregation I am familiar with had an article concerning those who have small children. The preacher stated in the article that it would be best if those that have small children sit on the back pews due to children sometimes being noisy and having to be removed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-converted-and-become-like-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":83530,"position":2},"title":"What does it mean to be converted and become like children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you please elaborate on what it means to be \"converted and become like children\" as stated in Matthew 18:1-4? Answer: \"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, \"Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?\" Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10270,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-children-contribute-to-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":83530,"position":3},"title":"Should children contribute to the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My daughter is now eleven years old. When we, in the church, lay by in store on Sunday she has always put in her small amount. I have encouraged this to teach her to give. However, some oppose this with the view that giving is for adults, for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/self-esteem-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":83530,"position":4},"title":"Self-Esteem (Sharp)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Sharp via\u00a0Tri-County Church of Christ. 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David's goal was not so much to kill the giant as to protect the children and honor God. He took five smooth stones from the brook to achieve his purpose. 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