The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Let the Little Children Come” for Tuesday, 13 January 2015 - Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Let the Little Children Come” for Tuesday, 13 January 2015 - Scripture: Mark 10: Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 Some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them by placing his hands on them. But his disciples told the people to stop bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, “Let the children come to me! Don’t try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God.[a] 15 I promise you that you cannot get into God’s kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does.” 16 Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them by placing his hands on them.
[Footnotes:
10.14 People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God: Or “The kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children.”]
Jesus said to [the chief priests and the scribes], “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself’?”[Matthew 21:16 (NRSV)]
One night as we were going to sleep, I heard my young grandson singing in his two-year-old way one of the most difficult church hymns. Just by being present in worship, he had learned this hymn and made it part of his life.
Young children often get restless during worship. When this happens with my grandchildren, I usually take them out of the service. I worry about their disturbing others. But Jesus said to let the little children come to him and not to stop them. These words convince me that welcoming children to worship and into the family of the church is more important than hurrying them out when they squirm or make a little noise.
I know that in the world outside the church, my grandchildren will encounter many distractions that will draw their attention away from God. That’s why I feel that bringing them to God through the worship and fellowship of the church is an essential responsibility.
The Author: Elenka Angelova (Ruse, Bulgaria)
Thought for the Day: How does my church welcome and nurture its children?
Prayer: Dear God, help us to remember and take seriously our responsibility to help the children in our lives grow up knowing you and your son, Jesus. Amen.
Prayer focus: For children who are far from the church
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