Children

No. 16 - 27th November 2016

I see that the Maresfield Dynamo junior football team have just been given a new kit by their sponsors. They look absolutely delighted. There’s something very special about the way children react to a gift – whoever it’s from. They’re not suspicious. They don’t question motives, and I’m quite sure they didn’t start analysing what the sponsor was going to get out of the deal. They just accept it with excitement and a grin all over their little faces.

There’s a rather special story about Jesus and the little children. He was constantly being followed by a crowd of people who wanted to hear what he had to say. Though I’m sure many of them just wanted to see the latest miracle or perhaps get healed themselves. Anyway, at the end of the day when his disciples were trying to drag him away and just let them all go home for a rest, the young mums started to bring their children for Jesus to lay his hand on them and bless them. I think the disciples must have been really exasperated because they just told them all to clear off. After all, Jesus had better things to do then mess around with kids. Jesus, on the other hand, tired as he must have been, said, “no, let the children come to me. Don’t stop them” And no doubt the kids all crowded around him, and we’re told that “he took the children in his arms and blessed them”. I suppose the disciples thought it was just a waste of time and energy when they should really be thinking about getting something to eat. But Jesus took one of the children and said to his disciples, “The thing is, if you don’t receive the Kingdom of God like this little child, then you won’t get into the Kingdom at all”. The disciples were rather puzzled by that. But looking at the faces of the Maresfiled Dynamos, I suspect that Jesus was talking about their simple acceptance of what was offered to them. No suspicion, no questioning of motives, no analysing whether a blessing from Jesus was going to be of any use. Just a delighted receiving of what was on offer.

Sometimes we complicate things and over intellectualise what God is offering, when what we should be doing is to just accept it and enjoy it, like little children.