August 15, 2020 8:00 pm
My grandson ran to the roller coaster line and stood with his back against the height-requirement sign to see if he was big enough to ride. He squealed with joy when his head exceeded the mark.
So much of life is about being “big” enough, isn’t it? To move from car seat to seatbelt and from the back seat to the front. To take a driver’s test. To vote. To get married. Like my grandson, we can spend our lives longing to grow up.
In New Testament times, children were loved but not highly valued in society until they “became of age” and could contribute to the home and enter the synagogue with adult privileges. Jesus shattered the standards of His day by welcoming the impoverished, the diseased, and even children. Three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) tell of parents bringing little children to Jesus so that He might lay hands on them and pray for them (Matthew 19:13).
The disciples rebuked the adults at what they saw as inconvenience. At this, Jesus was “indignant” (Mark 10:14) and opened His arms to the little ones. He elevated their value in His kingdom and challenged all to become like children themselves—to embrace their vulnerability and need for Him in order to know Him (Luke 18:17). It’s our childlike need that makes us “big” enough to receive His love.
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Hi, and welcome to today's Word of Encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Our reading is titled Big Enough, and it was written by Alisa Morgan. My grandson ran to the roller coaster line and stood with his back against the height requirement sign to see if he was big enough to ride. He squealed with joy when his head exceeded the mark.
So much of life is about being big enough, isn't it? To move from car seat to seat belt and from the back seat to the front. To take a driver's test. To vote.
To get married. Like my grandson, we can spend our lives longing to grow up. In New Testament times, children were loved, but not highly valued in society until they became of age and could contribute to the home and enter the synagogue with adult privileges. Jesus shattered the standards of His day by welcoming the impoverished, the diseased, and even children. Three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, tell of parents bringing little children to Jesus so that He might lay hands on them and pray for them.
The disciples rebuked the adults for what they saw as an inconvenience. At this, Jesus was indignant and opened His arms to the little ones. He elevated their value in His kingdom and challenged all to become like children themselves, to embrace their vulnerability and need for Him in order to know Him.
It's our childlike need that makes us big enough to receive His love. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Luke chapter 18 verses 15 through 17. People were also bringing babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them.
When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Let's pray. We thank You, Jesus, that You come to all of us, whether we're young or old. Your word tells us to come to You with a childlike faith, not questioning or looking for evidence, but trusting that You alone are God. Help us to embrace our need for You today, that You might draw us closer, like a child, to Your heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-03-18 15:18:17 / 2024-03-18 15:19:42 / 1
