Jesus Loves Kids.
Matthew 19:13-15 (NLT) —
‘One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.' And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.’
This week I will be living up to all the Kids Pastor stereotypes and talking a lot about children. The headline is that I think children are fantastic (though yes, I do get paid to say that).
The thing is that Jesus agrees with me! What is remarkable about Jesus, particularly in the context of the first century, is that he didn’t ignore children, nor did he simply tolerate them, nor patronise and speak down to them. Rather, Jesus elevated children and used them as an example for his audiences.
As Nick and Becky Drake put it in their brilliant book ‘Worship for Everyone’ - 'for Jesus, children are an example of true faith and embody the correct posture of a life dependent on God.'
Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 18, ‘Unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.’
This week we’ll be attempting to apply that verse and looking at a few simple ways we can become more like children. Each day I’ll suggest an idea or practice we could try based on something we do in Gas Street Kids, to help us follow the example children set for us.
To begin with though, as we head into this week, I just encourage you to pray for any children you know.
The prayer I pray most when praying for kids is simple - that they would fall deeply in love with Jesus. I pray this knowing that when this happens, things change! The fulfilment of this prayer changes the child’s life, their family’s life, their school, their future, their world. This prayer has the power to transform a generation - so let’s go for it!
Response: Pray for a couple of children you know. Thank God for their lives and then pray some big prayers … anything you want for them but ending in the prayer that they would fall deeply in love with Jesus.