Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

January 14, 2019

by Pastor Hawtree

BIBLE READING: MARK 10

13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Man did they blow it. Probably feeling a little self-important, frustrated with many that seemed to take advantage of Jesus, and maybe with a well-meaning motive, the disciples blew it. Maybe it wasn’t that the disciples didn’t like children, or didn’t want the children to be there. Maybe they were just frustrated with the individuals that were bringing the children, or maybe they were getting frustrated with all these children running around and the moms and dads were not being responsible for them. I do not know for sure. Either way, the issue was that their rebuke of what was probably parents, displeased Jesus because it stopped the children from coming to Jesus. Jesus would rather put up with the rambunctious children if it meant that He could reach them and teach them.

Jesus then gives a wonderful illustration about salvation. He tells the disciples that unless an individual has child-like faith in Jesus Christ, that individual will not see heaven. You see, children believe. Children often do not look at all the reasons why some things should be scrutinized, they see the excitement of the possibility. The older a person gets, the more cynical they can be, and it becomes difficult for them to whole heartedly believe the gospel without reservation. Consider with me:

1. When you reach a child, you reach an entire life.
2. When you reach a child, you reach them while their heart is tender, before their heart can be hardened by sin.
3. It is important to reach children because the older an individual gets, the more risk there is that that person could die before getting saved.
4. The sooner you reach a child, the greater the chance for God to get their heart before the world does.
5. When you reach a child, you are following the heart of God.
6. When you reach a child, the easier it is for the truths of God’s word to find a root in their mind.
7. It is important to reach children, because Jesus told us to.