Children And Jesus

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away. – Matthew 19:13-15

Jesus thinks much of children. All children. All the time. There is an innocence to them, despite the sin nature that lurks within, He loved and continues to love ridiculously. The same sin that captures all men and women, will someday be realized, sure, but as children Jesus loves with a fervent joy. After all, Jesus loves not only children, but sinners as well. Even the most heinous of us, are loved by our illogical Father of lights. This speaks of His boundless character.

When we see children running toward Jesus in the Gospels, we learn that they love Jesus as well. Kids are pretty honest with how they feel. This too is admirable. Kids love those who are fun, funny, and full of compassion. We can assume by the joy expressed by the kids surrounding Jesus, that He was less the moral stickler, and more the giggling big brother.

Joy seems like the first Christian trait we discard when the chips are down and life gets heavy. We have no room in our modern world – in our work heavy mantras – for fun and unstructured play. Our lives are too important to actually make room to enjoy them.

If we truly value the Kingdom of heaven, then we need to relax. If we are to take His commands seriously, then we need to stop taking ourselves seriously. Yet, there are specific matters of justice we must fight for with the joy of Jesus. In matters where children are involved, as well as those who are defenseless, we as light bearers have a moral obligation to lovingly and passionately stand up and act. There are few matters in our faith that are so black and white as those dealing with children and those who are marginalized or persecuted.