SHARING BREAD
13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to
place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who
brought them.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
Matt
19:13-15 (NIV)
The compassion, kindness and gentleness of the Lord Jesus towards
the little ones shine forth brightly in our verses for today. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s charge to
us in Colossians to manifest these virtues as well. As dearly loved children of the King, we too
are to be as the Master - clothing ourselves with these good and profitable
qualities:
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly
loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience. Col 3:12 (NIV)
“Jesus, Thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love Thou art.” Charles Wesley
Indeed, these virtues are also included in the listing of
the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians:
22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Gal 5:22-23 (NIV)
In our verses for today, not driven
by any particular need other than the desire for Christ to bless them, we
discover those bringing little ones to Jesus for Him to lay hands on them in
prayer. Their actions demonstrating a great
respect for Christ as well as showing the high value they placed on His favor
and blessing. Others brought Jesus their
children in dire need of healing yet it appears that these sought only His
blessing. It is a good thing to come to the
Lord and bring our children before we are driven to Him by a particular
need. I am reminded of Moses’ words in
Deuteronomy:
“Let the beloved of the LORD rest
secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves
rests between his shoulders.” Deut
33:12 (NIV)
“For
the love of God is broader than the measures of man’s mind; and the heart of
the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.” Frederick William Faber
“It
is rare that Christians earnestly seek the Lord’s face when things are going
swimmingly, when material blessings abound and we seem to be protected from the
vicissitudes faced by others. But in the
blackness of discouragement, when we are harassed and downcast, we may indeed
turn to the Lord and acknowledge our helplessness apart from his grace; we may
do so knowing that God is a compassionate God and that Jesus’ compassion was
particularly directed toward the harassed and the helpless.” D A
Carson
We
cannot do anything better for our children (or ourselves for that matter) than
to commit them (and ourselves) to the Lord Jesus to be prayed for, led and
helped by Him. There is no higher
ground. We are to trust in the Lord and
His direction – His pleasing and perfect will - as He alone can answer the prayers
of the heart as well as fully satisfy all inward longings and desires. King David writes in Psalm 37:
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and
enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight
yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will
do this: 6 He
will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause
like the noonday sun. Psalms 37:3-6 (NIV)
We
are also told in Proverbs:
5 Trust
in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make
your paths straight. Prov 3:5-6 (NIV)
Wrongly,
our Lord’s guys frowned on these actions as worthless and frivolous rebuking
those approaching Jesus as being troublesome and a bother. Christ has more love and compassion in Him
than the best of His disciples. We are
never to discourage any well-meaning soul willingly seeking the Lord Jesus as ever
being a nuisance to Him. It displeases
Jesus for turning away any soul who seeks Him as He remains ever ready to
receive them – from the strongest believer to the weakest child.
What I
glean from this:
· Jesus is all
compassion and love.
· I am to
clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
· Jesus
never turns any soul away who willingly seeks Him.
