Daily Bread

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

When I read this passage I wanna say, "Awwww!" I love that Jesus didn't prevent children coming to him, and I can see the smiles, the gleaming eyes, the wonder, and the laughter as Jesus took them up in his arms, laid hands on them, and blessed them.

Let's be honest though, kids can be a noisy and intrusive disturbance, and act without any thought to decorum! But, as Helen reminds me, that's just kids being kids!

Sometimes, in our Sunday worship, parents of toddlers feel embarrassed when their little ones make a noise, and thankfully, at least in our church community, there are no scolding or disapproving looks from our parishioners! I remember once, when my youngest, Rowena, was about 18 months old, I was mid-preach when she toddled down the church aisle and reached out her hands to be picked up. She spent the rest of my sermon in my arms sucking her thumb! I don't think anyone listened to another word I said.

The point is that we should never be a barrier to someone coming to Jesus. One of my first experiences of church, before I entered full-time ministry, was when our church youth worker had spent over a year working with the 'rough' kids on our local housing estate. One Sunday night, this gang of kids walked into our evening worship and perched themselves on the back of a rear pew with their feet on the seat. The youth worker was thrilled that they had come into church, however, one of the lads lit up a cigarette whereupon the church warden stormed over to them and literally screamed at them to, "Get out!" We never saw them near the church again, and in one fell swoop our youth worker's ministry was undone.

The image of that church warden has stayed with me, and from that moment on I vowed that all would be welcome, no matter who they are, how they sit, and even if they 'light up' in church.

Holy God
Thank you for your unconditional acceptance,
and that you welcomed me into your loving arms.
May I extend your welcome to others,
particularly those who feel far from you,
unworthy, or for whom 'church' is unfamiliar.
Today, may I be like Jesus to all I meet
and bless them in Jesus' name.