Feed on
Posts
Comments

God’s view of kids

To hear this Morning Devotion, please click here — God’s view of kids

.

.

Jesus had a knack for drawing very distinct lines in the sand.

Sometimes the lines were drawn literally as with the religious leaders who dragged an adulterous woman to Him in order to create a theological/political trap (John 8).

Most times, though, the lines were figurative though no less real.

One such time is recorded in Luke 18:17.

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Wow. There’s no confusing these words, huh?

Evaluated against the backdrop of preceding verses, Jesus was telling His followers that anything other than a humble, dependent attitude toward God will not be accepted by the Father.

And that will mean an eternity of rejection and suffering.

What is it about the little child’s attitude that is SO important to God? There have been countless sermons and lessons on this passage over the centuries, I’m sure. But here is a simple outline that occurred to me this morning.

This outline of HOPE is consistent with my observation and experiences. Please consider if it is consistent with yours.

  • Humble — Little children recognize that they don’t know enough to make it through life on their own.
  • Obedient — Little children know they are weak and unable to overcome threats without strength of others. That’s why they trust the leading of one who is stronger.
  • Pleasing — Little children want to please those they trust because of the relationship, not just because of some tangible reward.
  • Enthusiastic — Little children get excited whenever they reunite with some bigger who really loves them.

As Jesus saw the small children reaching their arms toward Him with bright-eyed smiles painted on their faces, He saw the attitude of HOPE that He desires in every soul.

He knew that the children’s hearts had not yet been stained by sin.

And He knew that the innocence of that moment was like that which will occur when a redeemed soul reaches toward its Father on the throne of heaven.

Dear friend, when you and I invited sin into our lives sometime during our childhood, we forfeited the hope of salvation based on our innocence.

But if we’ll do as the children in Luke 18 — if we’ll humble ourselves by being obedient to Christ’s teachings on salvation/service in order to be please Him enthusiastically — we’ll have the HOPE of salvation.

Please be the child of God in this life that He wants.

That way you’ll be sure to be reaching your arms toward Him with a bright-eyed smile painted on your face forever.

As always, I love you
Martin

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
  • Share/Bookmark

Leave a Reply