Senior Living - October 24, 2016

What can kids teach you about heaven?

October 24

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.” - Matthew 19:13-14

In her memoirs, First Lady Rosalynn Carter told of some of the odd things she learned about White House history when she was there. One thing she learned was that the children of James A. Garfield would often have pillow fights in the East Room. And Teddy Roosevelt’s five kids once took a pony into a second-floor bedroom after riding it up the elevator!

The old saying goes that “kids will be kids.” No truer words have been spoken. Children are often loud, rambunctious, overly energetic, and lacking in tact and social skills. But while it can be tempting to think that kids today are exceptionally worse than kids in years gone by, the truth is that kids have always been, well, kids!

Keeping that in mind, we see in today’s passage how Jesus dealt with kids. These kids were like most others: noisy and probably a bit annoying to those around them. And the disciples didn’t want them around Jesus because they thought He was too important to waste His time with kids.

But Jesus said something that was completely unexpected: “Let the little children come to me….”

Yes, kids are loud and can drain your energy. But Jesus loves them. Welcome children into your life. Learn from their sense of enthusiasm and curiosity about the attitude Jesus wants you to have toward His Kingdom. Let the little children come!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would give you a heart to spend time with children and learn about His Kingdom through them.

Questions for Thought

What is your general attitude toward children today? Do you like spending time with them?

Who are some children in your life today with whom you can make an effort to spend more time and learn from about God’s Kingdom?

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