Grow. Pray. Study. Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection – Friday, 27 December 2013 – “Welcome God's Kingdom like a
child”
Daily Scripture: Mark 10: Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he
might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 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. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his
hands on them, and blessed them.
Reflection Questions:
The character Buddy the Elf is appealing in part because he has
an innocent, child-like quality. At one point in Elf he said, "I just like
smiling; smiling's my favorite." Jesus must have liked smiling, too. Mark
said he hushed his stern, overly "grown up" disciples, and
"hugged the children and blessed them."
Jesus' words and actions said children were more likely to find
favor with God than self-satisfied Pharisees or materialistic rulers. The
Message renders his forceful words in verses 14-15 as: "Don't push these
children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the
very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom
in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." What can you learn
from children that will deepen and enrich your relationship with God?
We assume most children will be healthy. Not so in Jesus' day:
"Infant mortality was high….six of every ten children died before the age
of sixteen. 'The picture is one of peasant women, many of whose babies would be
dead within their first year, fearfully holding them out for Jesus to
touch'.…Jesus' loving response reveals that the new community he founds
embraces little ones." The children Jesus blessed faced dangers more like
children in Malawi today. To learn more about how you can bless such children
in Jesus' name, check out www.cor.org/malawi.
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, please keep me from ever growing too old inside to
join the joyous, trusting circle of children you welcomed. Keep my heart fresh,
flexible and smiling as I follow you. Amen.
Friday, 27 December 2013 – Insight from Chris Folmsbee
Chris Folmsbee is Resurrection’s Director of Group Life. He is the author of several books, with an
extensive background in applying principles of spiritual growth to real life.
He, his wife Gina and their family have been attending Resurrection since 2008.
Scholars debate as to all of the reasons behind Jesus’
expression of anger found in our reading today in Mark 10:13-16. Was it the disciple’s lack of compassion that
set Jesus off? Was it their relatively
small view of the Kingdom of God that caused Jesus to express frustration? Perhaps it was the simple act of blocking
people from getting to Jesus when the disciples should already have learned
that the Kingdom is for everyone? Was it the disciple’s inability to see an
injustice (those who were considered lower in society), and then not posses the
desire to correct it on their own? Did they think that Jesus was about to teach
and therefore made his teachings priority over his blessings? It was likely all
of the above and more.
My daughter, Megan, turned fourteen this past Saturday. Wow!
Where did the time go? When she was three, my wife Gina and I took her into the
hospital for surgery on the bridge of her mouth. Her upper teeth weren’t
progressing properly and it was causing her some pain. Our dentist recommended
she have a minor procedure to bolster the top row of teeth until her permanent
teeth came in. While the surgery was indeed minor, and everything worked out as
planned, it was a moment forever etched in my memory. The doctor asked, “Will
you hold her as tightly as you can while I place this mask over her face?” So I
did—I held her tightly and kept her from wiggling around so the doctor could do
what he needed to do. He placed a mask over her face to put her under, and as
he did I looked deep into her eyes. I could tell she was thinking, “Why are you
letting them do this to me?!” There was Megan, completely dependent on my care
and concern. Completely vulnerable, without any power of her own, and only the
ability to trust me, she wiggled until she fell asleep.
“Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because
God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. I assure you that whoever
doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” Jesus words
call us to become like children, like the babies who were being brought to him
for blessing—completely vulnerable, trusting and dependent. It is a child-like
faith required for entrance into the Kingdom of God. It is the qualities of a
child that actually position people to better understand and embody the
difficult truths of Jesus. Little children have an untiring trust in those who
care for them and love them. In what ways are you developing a child-like
faith?
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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