Matthew 19:13 - 15
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
Questions:
ReplyDelete- What does it mean that the kingdom belongs to little children?
- How do we become like little children?
We already covered this in Matthew 18:1 - 5.
ReplyDeleteIt's at http://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/12/matthew-181-5-at-that-time-disciples.html
In summary, there was a "my 2 cents" that said:
My 2 cents:
So many of the articles I found waxed on about a child's innocence and purity. I call bull. There hasn't been a child I have seen that hasn't been selfish, deceitful, fallen (just like all humans).
When Jesus is telling us to be like little children, I believe that He is not telling us to be pure and innocent (although, He does tell us to be that way throughout the Bible). He is telling us to be dependent and needy for our Father. Until we come to know our helplessness, we cannot accept God's grace. Until we realize our need for Christ, we don't need Him. A child cannot imagine life without his parents - even for a little while.
I think this distinction is important. If we think that Jesus is telling us to be pure and innocent, we will try to act that way - trying to earn our way. I believe that most (American) Christians have this problem. They try to be good, compare themselves with others, and become satisfied with their score they assigned themselves.
A true child of God fully realizes that they are helpless, and that the only way they can become pure and innocent is if God transforms them. A misunderstanding Christian strives on their own to transform themselves into the picture that the Bible paints of a transformed person.
If we miss the point on what Jesus is saying here, we will use the very words of Jesus to go astray.