Oh Those Children!

The famous sentence of Jesus. Can you complete the sentence? 

Let the little children COME TO ME, DO NOT HINDER them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:14). How amazing is that? 

God incarnate, supreme King of the universe walking in the square of town is a kid magnet. 

His disciples didn’t get the memo that Jesus welcomed the children; therefore they shushed and pushed the kids away. We’ve all been there, right? Thinking Jesus wants our missional community or big church family gathering time to be tidy, clean, quiet, put together, no mess, no interruptions, etc. If only the distractions of needy children, screaming kids, inquisitive, creative and attention craving children were put in their own place, then we could have a good and profitable time together. This Jesus said, NEVER! 

He said, let little children come to me and do not put barriers in their way. Don’t shush them away. Don’t push them away. Don’t make them built in outcasts, but WELCOME THEM! Jesus had them crawling all over him. Jesus had them on his lap. Jesus was talking with them.

The reason He gave for this invitation was that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to those who were like little children. Let that humble us for the rest of our lives, right?

These kids were learners, not know-it-alls. These kids were dependers, not independent. These kids were lovers of one greater than them knowing they had it amazingly good in Jesus.

As in the days Jesus welcomed the little children, so let us be missional communities that welcome, love, invite, engage, listen and learn from the little children. 

As in the days Jesus welcomed the little children, so may we be reminded that He welcomed us like children needing a Father in Heaven who loved us with an everlasting, always and forever love. 

Click on the links below for how we can do this in our missional communities more tangibly. 

Part 1 https://vergenetwork.org/2013/05/06/how-to-incorporate-kids-in-missional-communities-pt-1-ben-connelly/ 

Part 2 https://vergenetwork.org/2013/05/13/how-to-incorporate-kids-in-missional-communities-pt-2-ben-connelly/ 

Part 3 https://vergenetwork.org/2013/05/21/how-to-incorporate-kids-in-missional-communities-pt-3-ben-connelly/ 

Praying that we continue to foster a culture of non-hindering and total welcoming of the little children in our missional community and church family gatherings.