Kids Get It
December 3, 2024
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16 (NIV)
This December our sermon series is entitled The Wonder of it All and it accompanies an Advent devotional book written by Mark Sorensen, the senior pastor of The Woodlands Methodist Church in The Woodlands, Texas. Below is a preview of that devotion from day 2.
You can watch part 1 from Sunday, December 1, (and other recent sermons) by clicking here.
It’s not too late to jump in and read along with all of us; follow the links at Seedbed or Amazon.
KIDS GET IT
Mark 10:13–16 (NIV) - People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
CONSIDER THIS
I love the story of the mother who took her five-year-old boy with her to the small, locally owned grocery store in town. She had finished getting the groceries and went up to the counter to check out. Conveniently placed next to the register was a jar full of the most colorful pieces of hard candy you could have ever imagined.
The owner of the store, who happened to be running the register that day, saw the little boy staring at that jar of candies with wide-eyed wonder. Feeling a spirit of generosity, the owner asked the boy, “Would you like to reach in and grab some candy for free today?”
The boy didn’t answer. He just stood there. Pushing further, the owner replied, “Go ahead. I don’t mind. Reach in! Get some candy! It’s on me today.” Still, the young boy said nothing.
At a loss for what to do next, the owner asked the boy if it would be okay if he got some candy out for him. With that, the little boy suddenly came alive, smiled, and said, “Please, and thank you, sir!” The man reached in, grabbed a good-sized handful of candy, and filled the little boy’s hands.
Walking out of the store, the mother was curious and asked her son, “Honey, when the nice man asked you to grab some candy out of the jar, why didn’t you answer him? He asked you two different times to stick your hand in there and get some candy, and you didn’t move.”
Without missing a beat, the boy got a huge smile on his face and replied, “Mom, did you see the size of his hands?” Smart kid.
God has more wonder in his hands than we can ever realize. The question is: Are our hands ready to receive all that he has prepared to pour over us?
This brings to mind a story found in Mark’s gospel, where a group of children crashed a grown-up Bible study. Imagine the setting. Jesus was teaching, another large crowd had gathered, and the disciples were feeling like rock stars. James and John were shoulder-to-shoulder eyeing the crowd. Matthew was tediously taking notes on the teaching when, suddenly, Peter’s eyes darted over to a group of kids and parents pushing through the crowd and heading straight to Jesus. No problem, Peter thought. I can handle this. Jumping into action, Peter blocked the kids and parents and quietly moved them toward the back of the crowd because, well, Jesus hadn’t even gotten to the third point of that day’s teaching. “Sorry, kids. Go and play somewhere else. There’s serious grown-up business happening here,” Peter said.
That’s when it happened: Peter heard his name. I imagine that he stopped and turned around to see the crowd was now looking at him, caught red-handed as he was moving the kids out of the circle where the adults had gathered.
Mark records that in this moment, Jesus was “indignant” (Mark 10:14a). You don’t hear that word often in Scripture, by the way. In the Greek, it means to feel a violent irritation. Clearly, something is happening in the moment that we should take note of. What followed was a rebuke from Jesus: “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” In fact, he went on to say, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (vv. 14b–15). Then he took the children in his arms and blessed them.
Let’s not miss this moment. To a group of adults, Jesus used children to show the way we’re all called to enter into the presence of God. We’re to enter it like a little child, hands open, ready to receive all the wonder that comes from the Father.
Today’s reminder: the kingdom of God exists for kingdom children.
THE PRAYER
God of wonder, we thank you for the gift of childlike faith. It’s all too easy to live our lives with clenched fists, holding on to control. Today, may we loosen the grip. May we open our hands to receive the wonder you want to freely pour over us all. In Jesus’s mighty name we pray, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
What does childlike wonder mean to you? What do children possess that adults have lost? What does it mean to receive the kingdom of God like a little child, and where might we be missing the kingdom of God because we’ve grown a little too old?
For the Awakening,
Mark Sorensen