LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME

LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME Matthew 19:13-15 Jan 19, 2003 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Everybody at the local Wal Mart is excited. The crowds are pouring in the doors, especially mothers and children. It hadn't been on the news, it wasn't advertised, but word-of-mouth can be quite effective. Some had received calls on their cell phones. Others just ran into people in the parking lot who asked them, "Did you hear who is a Wal Mart today?" Some were fortunate enough to have been shopping in the store anyway. The one end of the store was filling quickly now-the area between women's wear and children's clothes, where they usually have the photographer taking the kids pictures-you know, one free 8X10 with the purchase of the three 3X5's and 12 wallets, and the nice cardboard frames included? "He's sitting on the bench there! See His friends all around Him? It's Jesus! Imagine that-Jesus at Wal Mart!" You can hardly believe it, but you find yourself hurrying past the jewelry counter toward the crowd, almost dragging your two children. "Jesus? At Wal Mart?" Then you catch a glimpse of Him, smiling and teaching those around Him, and somehow you know, it's Him! Questions of How and Why seem to dissolve in your mind as you find yourself working your way through the mass of people. Miraculously, there is an opening and the three of you wiggle through to a place right up front, just six feet from Jesus. He is the absolute picture of love and concern. He is seated on the blue shag carpet of the counter where the children sit to have their photos taken. And He is deluged by children-they're climbing onto His lap, scurrying around the photo set, almost toppling the photographer's background screen. Then there are these other men standing around-a dozen 25-30 year olds--you're sure they are His disciples-they're dressed like Him and they look nervous. All the moms and dads are crowding in and releasing their children to go up to Jesus and let Him hug them and talk with them. It reminds you, in an odd kind of way, of the kids at Disney World rushing to the Mickey Mouse character to get their pictures taken, or of Christmas time at the mall, when they wait in line to climb up on Santa's lap and tell him about the gifts they want. But it's much more than pictures and presents here. Jesus is blessing the kids. He's smiling at them, talking with them, praying for them, tousling their hair, holding their hands, looking straight into their eyes with love and compassion. All around him is a growing cloister of kids, but it's not bedlam. It's peaceful. But then there is a disturbance. Voices barking out commands impatiently to the children and their parents. Who was it-the store manager, the department head, an angry clerk? No, it was the disciples-those men who are with Jesus! They're upset about the children. It's then that your son and daughter ask if they can go and without hesitation you smile and nod. One of the men grabs them by their arms-not maliciously, but firmly enough to frighten them and stop them dead in their tracks. "That's enough-no more children. He is too busy," says the big guy-did someone say his name was Peter? Another one, I believe his name is Judas, is complaining that parents just don't know how to discipline their children any more. James and John are actually pushing the crowd back, saying, "Get back, give the Master room. No more children-Jesus is supposed to bring a teaching!" Just then Jesus looks up and gently but sternly corrects his disciples. "Let the children come to me-don't stop them! These little ones remind me of the citizens of heaven." Your two kids pull free from the grasp of an embarrassed disciple. All the children cheer and rush toward Jesus, who is smiling and patient. Time seems to stand still as He ministers to each one of them. He manages to actually touch each child individually. When he does there is a peace that comes over them-not anything eerie, but something beautiful and naturally childlike. It's as though the touch of Jesus releases them from some unseen bondage, and they are suddenly free to be…who they are…children…children of God. I suppose that might be a modern equivalent to what is recorded as happening in Capernaum on that memorable day when Jesus taught his followers how important children are. The original account is found in Matthew 19:13-15. We can be certain there is a lesson for us today as well. Please notice that Jesus gives two clear directions to the disciples-one negative and the other positive: "Don't hinder them" and "Let the children come to me". Don't Hinder Them The real problem with the disciples' behavior wasn't in their wanting to protect Jesus from distraction, or to help Him get on to His teaching. The real problem was their blindness. They couldn't see that He WAS teaching. They couldn't comprehend the value of a child. To the myopic eye of a busy adult, children are often only a disturbance. In their attempt to be helpful, they became the disturbance themselves. They sound a lot like us sometimes-"Not now, I'm busy" "Can't you see I'm doing something important?" When Jesus corrected them, it was to teach them the value of every human being, no matter how apparently small. By discouraging the children's natural inclination toward Christ, the disciples were actually the ones who were in the way. Children want to get near Him, because faith is a natural part of childlikeness (see Matthew 18:1-6). How might we be guilty of the same blindness? First, by not capitalizing on the questions of children around us, and their natural pursuit of the Lord. We must learn not to ignore spiritual questions and teaching opportunities. Deuteronomy 6 charges parents to teach their children opportunistically-whenever you're walking down the street, or sitting in your living room, or lying on your bed, and again when you get up. Once my grandson, Gage, asked, "Why is the devil so mean?" Well, this was a moment from heaven-a grand opportunity to teach. When Gage's mother was about that age, out of the blue she once asked why we always sang so much at church. I proceeded with a five-minute dissertation on worship, and asked her if she had any more questions. "Yeah, how do you whistle in Spanish?" Don't ignore opportunities to teach. Secondly, don't NOT take children to church services just because it is inconvenient to you. The first question addressed might be Why do you feel it is so inconvenient to be with the body of Christ? Kid City, Celebration, Cell groups meetings are carefully planned and prayed-up opportunities for corporate prayer, worship, teaching and fellowship. Delinquency from the gathering of the church family says two things loud and clear to children: 1) being with other Christians is unimportant, and 2) my religious development is of little value to my parents, and they're also indifferent to their own growth in faith and community. Devaluating the centrality of corporate study, praise and fellowship is just as dumb as the disciples at Wal Mart and Capernaum trying to keep the children from Jesus. Kids are sinners just like you and I are, and their tendency is often that they don't want to go to church meetings. Of course! They don't want to go to school either! One author says he is thankful as an adult for the "drug" problem he had as a child-his parents drug him to Sunday School, drug him to church services and drug him to lots of helpful things. Let me suggest further that it is not only parents who may hinder children, it is also the other adults and teenagers in the body of Christ. I must remind you that on any given Sunday there are some 80 eyes, from the nursery to the ninth grade, who are observing you--they're trying to learn what it means to be a grown-up who loves Jesus. They do notice if you are lackadaisical about worship or giving or communion or listening to the Word of God. Brothers and sisters, our inattention to the devoted practice of our faith are not just accidental, inconsequential slips-thoughtless, sub-Christian behavior hinders children from coming to Jesus. What are you saying, Pastor? That I should just pretend to be sincere in the way I act just so I don't bring a bad example to the kids? That's kind of hypocritical, isn't it? As a matter of fact, it is. And I guess I would have to say that, if you don't love Jesus enough to worship Him in spirit and truth, go ahead and sit there disinterestedly. Or if your opinion of the Lord's Supper or financial stewardship is so low that you really can't honor Him with your sincere participation, stay away from the table. Or if your regard for the teaching of the Word of God is that minimal, go ahead and sleep. What I am doing here is reminding Christian people, who have committed their lives to the Lord, that our enthusiastic participation in the practice of our faith is not only important because it is a statement of our devotion and service to Christ, not only important for our own duty and growth in the faith, but also important to the little people around you who are relentlessly watching you. One author put it well when he said, "Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." Don't hinder the children… Let the Children Come to Him Encourage them When Mike returned home from his first day in kindergarten, his mother asked if he'd had a good day. "I can't read and I can't write and they won't let me talk, so what's the use?" he replied. Kids need lots of esteeming, and do you know where they get it? Not from the other kids on the playground-they can be so mean. They get it from the significant adults God puts in their lives. They look to their parents and to other trusted adults (the ones their parents trust) for a model of adulthood. There's another good reason to hang around other Christians as much as you can-those other adults become spiritual aunts and uncles to your kids. As a grandparent, I want to tell you-be patient and encourage your kids-they'll be gone soon. (Repeat those four words - "They'll be gone soon!") Let that awesome truth help you when you are at your wit's end. One father lamented, "You know, when I was a child, I never gave any thought to running away from home. But now that I am a parent, I think about it all the time." It is when parents and other significant adults in their lives affirm and encourage them that children come to understand their value and identity. At his request, each morning three-year-old Ry's mother pinned a bath towel to the back shoulders of his size two T- shirt. Immediately in his young imaginative mind, the towel became a brilliant magic blue and red cape. And he became Superman. Outfitted each day in his "cape," Ry's days were packed with adventure and daring escapades. He was, after all, Superman. This fact was clearly pointed out the next fall when his mother enrolled him in kindergarten class. During the course of the interview, the teacher asked Ry his name. "Superman," he answered politely and without pause. The teacher smiled forgivingly, cast an appreciative glance at his mother, and asked again, "Your real name, please." Again, Ry answered, "Superman." Realizing the situation demanded more authority, or maybe to hide amusement, the teacher closed her eyes for a moment, then in a voice quite stern, said, "I will have to have your real name for the records."     Sensing he'd have to play straight with the teacher, Ry slid his eyes around the room, hunched closer to her, and patting a corner of frayed towel at his shoulder, answered in a hushed voice of conspiracy: "Clark Kent." Teach Them There is a reason why God designed 9 months of gestation and 18 years of living with parents. They need instruction in morality, wisdom for life and relationship with Him. (Deut. 6:6-7; Eph. 6:4-6) It does not happen by accident. Raise them to know God - Too many parents operate under the mistaken notion that we are to give our kids care, comfort, clothes and college. But these are ancillary. What they need is the very thing God commands us to give them - to come to know Him in personal faith.     Teach them - at home, and in corporate church settings-Let them come to Him. At church one morning a teacher was about to start her 4-year-olds' Sunday school class when a new little boy showed up without any identification. The teacher managed to get his first name, but couldn't find out his last name. "Brian, what's your daddy's name?" she asked. "Daddy," he replied. She tried again, "Brian, what's your mommy's name?" "Mommy," he answered. Suddenly she realized a way how she might get the answer she needed. "Brian, what does your daddy call your mommy?" His face lit up. With a grin and a deep voice, he replied, "Hey, Babe." This Kid City program is one of the finest opportunities I know for kids to learn scripture in a fun and encouraging environment. No only do I encourage you to bring your kids and your neighbors' kids to Sunday morning K.C., I also encourage you to help out in it. They need teachers, but they also need ushers, craft people, big people to sit with little people who are still learning to be big people. You don't need any special gifting. You just need to lovingly make yourself available. There is also Vacation Bible School coming in July. There is also your weekly cell group meetings, where you can be a friend and encourager of your friends' children as well as your own. Take your turn in the rotation of working with the kids. Forty years ago a Philadelphia congregation watched as three 9-year-old boys were baptized and joined the church. Not long after, unable to continue with its dwindling membership, the church sold the building and disbanded. One of those boys was Anthony Campolo, author and sociologist at Eastern College, PA. Dr. Campolo recalls: "Years later when I was doing research in the archives of our denominations, I decided to look up the church report for the year of my baptism. There was my name, and Dick White's. He's now a missionary. Bert Newman, now a professor of theology at an African seminary, was also there. Then I read the church report for 'my' year: 'It has not been a good year for our church. We have lost 27 members. Three joined, and they were only children.'" Bob was trying to teach his daughter, Jenny, how to say grace before meals. After a few weeks of coaching, Bob decided Jenny was ready to say grace all by herself. Jenny started out fine, thanking God for her mommy and daddy and brother and sister and for the rolls and the salad, etc. She ended with a big, "Thank you, God, for the spaghetti!" and lifted her head. The tradition in Bob's house, though, was to end each prayer with "In Jesus' name, Amen." So Bob prompted Jenny, "In ..." At first, Jenny seemed confused. Then she proudly exclaimed, "In tomato sauce. Amen." --Barbara J. Doll, "Kids of the Kingdom," Christian Reader. There was some great advice offered by Mother Teresa after she made a speech about her work with the sick and dying among the orphans in India. Following her address, a member of the audience stood and asked: "You have done so much to make the world a better place. What can we do?" He clearly wanted to assist in her work. Mother Teresa smiled and said simply, "Love your children." The questioner looked perplexed and seemed about to speak again when Mother Teresa raised her hand. "There are other things you can do," she said, "but that is the best. Love your children. Love your children as much as you can. That is the best." And that really is the most important thing I can say this morning. Love them. Love them What is love, from a kid's point of view? "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." "Love is when someone hurts you, and you get so mad, but you don't yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings." "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay." "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Citation: "What Is Love-From a Kid's Point of View" Jesus knew the value of children. He also knew kids can be fun. Paul Harvey, in 1 of his radio programs, reported this story that happened in Mobile, Al.. A young mother and her 3 yr. old son drove into the parking lot of a grocery store. She gave him some pretty serious instructions. She said, "Honey we are not here to buy chocolate chip cookies. Okay! Mama's got to run in and get some things and you're going to be a good boy. You're not going to throw a fit about cookies, because that is not why we are here." She took him inside, got the cart, put him in the seat that kids sit in and they started going up and down the aisles. Eventually they made their way down the cookie aisle. He spotted his heart's desire. "Mama, could we please get a box of chocolate chip cookies?" "No honey, mama told you before we got out of the car, that is not why we are here. Don't bring it up again." A few minutes later he could see that cookie aisle out of the corner of his eye, "Mama could we please go back and get some cookies." "Honey, mama told you already, don't you bring that up again, or you'll get a spanking. We're not here to get chocolate chip cookies. She got in line to check out. Evidently the little man decided this was his last chance. According to Harvey, he stood up in the grocery cart and as loud as he could he said, "In the name of Jesus could we get some chocolate chip cookies." Evidently, the people who heard the little boy were either so amused or convicted that Harvey said that young mom went back to her car w/ 23 bags of chocolate chip cookies. Conclusion In Matthew 18:3, Jesus is also teaching His disciples when He says to them, "Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Ironic, isn't it, that we spend our energies trying to make children like us. Here Jesus says we should be like them if we want to be part of the kingdom of heaven. We must become like children in order to enter and remain in the kingdom, because it is when we are childlike in our trust and love for Jesus that we are vulnerable enough to receive Him. Like the children in this narrative, people who are not full of themselves will gladly run to Him in faith. And it is faith that appropriates all of God's blessings to us. Malcolm Muggeridge was a celebrated British journalist who for the decades of his public career used his extreme intellect and sharp wit against Christianity. In one of the last books he wrote before his death in 1990, Muggeridge told how he had met Mother Teresa while filming a BBC documentary about her work. He was completely captivated by her deep compassion for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta's slums. But as an unbeliever, he said he could not accept her faith. He told her that he saw the church as such imperfect and flawed institution. Once, while Mother Teresa visited London, she and Muggeridge took a walk, and Muggeridge told of the conversation they had: "I took up my well-prepared defensive position about the church, whose deficiencies, crumbling barricades, and woeful future prospects, I expatiated upon, with little effect." After she left London, she wrote Muggeridge a letter and enclosed a small devotional book. Here are excerpts from her letter, which are a model of how to share your faith lovingly: "I think I understand you better now. I don't know why, but you to me are like Nicodemus, and I'm sure the answer is the same: 'Unless you become a little child.' I'm sure you will understand beautifully everything if you would only become a little child in God's hands. Your longing for God is so deep, and yet he keeps himself away from you. He must be forcing himself to do so, because he loves you so much, as to give Jesus to die for you and for me. Christ is longing to be your food. Surrounded with fullness of living food, you allow yourself to starve. The personal love Christ has for you is infinite. The small difficulty you have regarding his church is finite. Overcome the finite with the infinite. Christ has created you because he wanted you. I know what you feel, terrible longing with dark emptiness, and yet he is the one in love with you." Apparently Mother Teresa's love kept working on Muggeridge. Just 8 years before he died (in 1990), he finally overcame his objections and publicly accepted the Christian faith and joined the church. We should love encourage and teach our children. But we should also take a lesson from them-a lesson in humble love for God. When you come to Him in simple faith, He will release you from unseen bondages and make you free to become a child of God. "People who do not like children are swine, dunces, and blockheads, not worthy to be called men and women, because they despise the blessing of God, the Creator and Author of marriage." Citation: Martin Luther, "Martin Luther--The Early Years," Christian History, no.     [Back to Top]