MAY 3 - The Kingdom Belongs to the Children
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.
Matthew 19:13-15 NIV
Sometimes I hear jokes about governments being run by babies, it’s funny to think about how chaotic that would be. A child in charge of a country.
But Jesus tells his disciples,
“the kingdom of heaven BELONGS to such as these.”
How? Why?
Are kids in charge of prayers in heaven? Sending messages to God? Maybe.
Here’s what he’s saying:
14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is thekingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:13-15 NKJV
“the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
“For of such” and another translation says: ”to such as these”
Jesus isn’t just talking about Children, he’s also referring to the child-like:
The early Christian’s mind is the mind of child. This is why Christ chose the image of the child as our ticket to the kingdom of God.
Children are filled with awe and wonder. For children there are no limits. Children believe in heroes. Those heroes—Spiderman, their father, their older brother, their teacher, God, etc.—can make things happen, can make things right.
Children are helpless too—innocently helpless. Perhaps this helps them trust others. This helps children believe that others are there to do good. And so, they allow others to be good. No, maybe they inspire others to do good because of their innocent helplessness, because of this trust they give others.
The Gospel invites the child in us to trust and believe in heroes and allow heroes to do the good they can do to make the world a better place. The child in us allows God to be God again.
When Christ says “To such belong the kingdom of God,” we must remember that, yes, while he is referring to the kingdom of God in heaven, he’s also telling us that this kingdom is in our midst. The kingdom of God in our midst belongs to the children and the childlike.
Three ways to keep this in mind and practice it:
Believe in the awe and wonder of God. See God as having no limits and using that power in your life.
Trust God. Have literal blind faith, if he put you in that situation, he’ll get you out of it.
Give the benefit of the doubt. We’ve been hurt by people before, sometimes it’s hard to trust others. But if you can’t trust people, how can you trust God?