August 18, 2013
“THE LORD AND LITTLE CHILDREN”
(Mark 10:13-16, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 3:23, Ephesians 6:1-2, Matthew 6:33)
There are several concerns these days, which appear more times than not to be
negative, surrounding children. To cite examples of but a few such issues: there is
issue of the physical and emotional abuse of children, there is the issue of health
problems among kids, there is the related issue of youngsters who most often live
on fast food. Society even conjures up concern about the younger generation as
they develop an obsession with technology to the extent they anticipate pushing a
button instead of doing simple math problems on their own. I want you to know
such a viewpoint of “the youth” has existed down through the annals of human
history. Furthermore, some adults find themselves making the mistake of viewing
small children with warm, tender feelings while simultaneously blaming teenagers,
in general, for all that’s wrong in the world. This inaccurate assessment (held by
grownups) existed at the time of Moses, existed in the minds of adults during the
lifetime of Daniel, was expressed throughout the Roman Empire period of time,
was voiced during the Middle Ages, was written about by people such as Ben
Franklin when America was founded and is at the present time the thinking of
American society in this 21st Century. There is nothing new under the sun!
In the wee hours of the morning in Cottonwood, if you’re driving through town,
you will perhaps see someone riding a bicycle at 2:30 or 3:00 A.M. If that should
be the case, don’t assume the rider is a juvenile. Those who patrol the streets often
find such an individual is a grown adult, up to no good. Certainly there are times
“kids” are doing this, to be sure. But they are the group regularly suspected of such
behavior. I recognize such categorizing of younger folk finds its reality in the
process of children exploring life as they grow up. Each adult in this room at one
time experienced having to “learn things the hard way”. It is common knowledge
that young people try to cope with building their self-worth and discovering the
limits to their personal independence while their hormones run amuck. When this
dramatic time of change arises in the lives of teens, the urgency to question
anything and everything is huge! Having reviewed all this, we know preadolescent
little children observe in a much more unsophisticated way. It is only as life moves
kids into the teenage years they begin to think for themselves. And then, poof,
bam, zap! They reach their mid-twenties and they believe they have a handle on
everything. It is not unusual for young adults to mentally and emotionally come to
a place where their mind is made up and no one can “confuse them with facts”! As
I prepared my sermon for today, I recalled (when I was growing up) I regularly
heard this kind of advice: “children are to be seen but not heard” and “don’t
speak unless you’re spoken to”.
1
August 18, 2013
Having rehearsed the above, we move into Mark 10:13-16 this morning where
Jesus addresses his disciples in anger because they possess the very “ageprejudice” I’ve just delineated. This is how our scripture reads:
“13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on
them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.
He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will
not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ 16 And he
took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
What a wonderful scenario we find in front of us. Parents and families bringing
“little children” to the Lord so he can “bless them”. Matthew adds in his gospel
(Matthew 19:13) that the parents brought their children to Jesus so he would “pray
for them”. And, at this precise point in time, the reaction of the disciples pops to
the surface. The disciples rebuke, scold and berate the adults who (as one would
expect) want the Messiah to meet their children. Can you imagine the exchange
between Peter, Nathaniel, James, John and the others? Most likely, it was a bit like
this: “Really, are you kidding me? Why in the world are these people being so
demanding and obnoxious? Don’t they know the Master has much more important
things to do than have his picture taken with kids? He’s the Messiah after all! He
doesn’t need to take his time to utter a little ‘hocus-pocus” ritual for kids. We’d
best bring an end to this and put these folk in their place. This is a precedent we’d
best nip in the bud. It’s fortunate Jesus has us here to save him from this
madness.”
They take matters into their own hands and attempt to clear the press of the crowd
who are pushing their children toward the Lord. And then, we read: “When Jesus
saw this, he was indignant.” Mark is inspired to share with his readers the
emotional reaction Jesus has toward such blatant, aggressive actions by his
disciples. The Lord doesn’t simply harbor hostility toward their behavior. He
speaks to the issue very specifically and pointedly. He tells them: “Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them…” Christ publically reprimands the
twelve for their actions; but he doesn’t stop there. The Lord seizes the opportunity
to use this incident as a teaching point. We’ve seen it several times before; in Mark
9:31 “…he was teaching his disciples.” He found it necessary to interrogate them,
in 9:33, “What were you arguing about on the road?’ Their thinking was in the
wrong place for they were arguing about which of them was most important. Next,
he found it necessary to correct them, in 9:39, “Do not stop him” was his reply as
they reported judging a man for practicing exorcism, “…We saw someone driving
2
August 18, 2013
out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of
us.” Now he finds it necessary to angrily prohibit them from being a hindrance, in
their attempt to shield him from these little ones. When will they ever learn? And
yet, he continues to teach them.
Jesus uses this situation to explain (by means of an object lesson) how one can
“receive the kingdom of God as a little child”. (Mark 10:15) In basic terms our
Lord is informing his followers that the way someone enters his kingdom is by
being just like a little child. Little children from birth by-and-large accept the
authority of, rely upon, listen to and follow implicitly the authority and leadership
of their parent(s). That is how life begins. Parents who accept the responsibility
God gives them with regard to their children feed, clean, protect, provide for and
love them, from day one, when their children can do nothing but receive all their
needs from Mom and Dad. In such an environment a child is submissive, obedient
and respectful. Around the time we refer to as “the terrible twos and threes” kids
learn a powerful word. It is the word: “NO”! I often tell people one cannot be a
parent and deny “original sin”, because the first time a child tells a parent the “N”
word, they fulfill Romans 3:23, “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God” God’s Word commands children in “Ephesians 6:1-2, “Children, obey
your parents in the Lord, for this is RIGHT. Honor your father and mothers—
which is the first commandment with a promise…” When a parent gives a
command to a young child and that “little child” refuses to obey the command, the
evil sin nature which is passed down from Adam’s and Eve’s “NO” springs into
that child’s life contaminating his or her inner being.
When parents do their own thing and refuse to use their God-given authority over
their children, as found in his word, they are disobedient, they model the wrong
example of rebellion against God to their offspring and enter into life apart from
God’s design for life. Under such a rebellious manner of parenting children have
no clue how to correctly relate to God or to their parents. When Mom and Dad are
not correctly relating to God, they are ripe for all kinds of sinful behavior including
a fertile soil for the breakup of the home. Stay with me please! We must know if
parents do everything right, as God commands them to do, each child will decide
for his/her own self what is important in life. When they go through the growth
process identified in this sermon, they inevitably will enter the turbulent period of
life. They may still reject God’s way of life (here and elsewhere Jesus calls it: “the
kingdom of God”). If this sinful way of life is followed by one’s child, the Holy
Spirit might still reach out to them in their rebellion and bring up Bible verses and
knowledge they received from Mom and Dad earlier. Each parent who belongs to
God is expected to have weathered the storm through their own turbulent struggle
3
August 18, 2013
and discovered how to experience life in the kingdom of God. The Christian life
only works one way! The entrance requirement for the kingdom has nothing to do
with “Peter meeting someone at the gate of heaven” in spite of how people joke
about eternal life. There is an aspect of the kingdom which will take place in the
eternal future. But Christ is (here, in the instance of welcoming little children)
speaking about the present reality of living under the rule, the authority, the
control, the management and ownership God claims in the individual lives of his
children.
Children of early age give their allegiance, their obedience to their parents without
question. Difficulty arises when they no longer submit to Mom or Dad. Every time
we attempt to take control of life, as we did way back in the terrible twos and
threes, we quit the practice of kingdom living! One cannot follow the dictates of
his/her own heart and be surrendered to God, at the same time. Those who refuse
to surrender to God (UNCONDITIONALLY), without reservation, are full of
sinful pride and rebellion. The end result will be to make one’s life a total mess,
much akin to an inner city slum. Children trust adults until they get burned by
them. If such burning happens it is tragic. However, when it comes to God, he is
perfect, sinless, ever-faithful and all loving, knowing and equipped with all power.
Why in the world do we choose to not just turn control of our lives to such a
gracious God instead of maintaining our self-sufficient independence?
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with ALL YOUR HEART
and lean not on your own understanding; In ALL YOUR WAYS submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.” What part of this do we not understand, I
ask you? This is the complete mural of what it takes to have a fulfilled life. Our
sinful pride and independence is the major plague infesting the human race. Why
do we hold so tight to such spiritual malignancy?
Matthew 6:33 summarizes the secret to life this way: “But seek FIRST his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these (other) things will be given to you
as well.” Such a life can be had as we come to God empty as a small child reaching
out to be fed, standing behind God in times of danger and simply waiting to be told
what to do by a God who’s already formed the plans he desires for each of us. Is
that really so complicated? We’ve already reminded ourselves the “God of angel
armies” has everything in his control and will measure out the results in his time
and in his way. How can we go wrong under that scenario?
4