The Children Want Jesus

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

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.

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

(Mark 10:13-16 KJV)

I have returned for the summer to where I served as a pastor for eighteen years. It is has been a pleasure and an eye-opener as I see young people who are strong (though at times they may feel weak) and loving adults. 

I was there when many were baptized, confirmed, and when some were married. I was there when they received their first communion. Oh! The joy I saw in so many faces as they received the Lord into themselves! They had waited for that day. They had studied for it and most of all they longed to receive the body and blood Jesus. They longed to have Jesus!

Their presence also reminds me that I am not at all young any more! They have  also aged since I first met them. They have their own families now; their own children; and, some of their children are grown children now. A couple of them even have gray hairs of their own! It gives me great pleasure to see how they have grown since I first met them. They are awesome children of God. They have grown in ways that I could only hope for them. 

Most of these young people not only learned by participating in Sunday School as children; but, helped to lead worship as they led prayers of the church, read the readings, were acoloytes, served at breakfasts and dinners. Some even participated in worship by preaching; sometimes alone; sometimes in dialogues or skits with other youth. When I first got the youth to do more than lighting the candles, I did get a little negative feed back. There were a few who said they liked seeing children in church; but, they thought that children should be silent and not heard and not really seen much, either. I am glad that my councils approved of the youth participating most fully in worship. I see the results today. It gives me great pleasure to know these young people.

Please, do not neglect to allow the children to serve the Lord in any way they might wish. If they do not have the capability at the present time; take the time to train them. Do not keep the children away. Let them learn what Jesus has done for them; how much he loves them; and, will be with them in their life's journey. Do not be a stumblingblock to them. 

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

                                                                                  (Matt 18:2-6)

Those little children want Jesus! Do not stand between them and him!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sin

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
                                                                                                                    Matthew 18:15-18 NIV

No, not everything that is done within the church must be overlooked for the sake of loving our neighbors. Turning a blind eyes to the sins that occur within the church is not love. Sometimes loving our brothers and sisters in Christ means that confrontation must occur for the sake of all.

So many problems within congregations stem from the inability to call sin a sin. Sins against others and against God are overlooked and so the sin continues to hurt others. The hurtful sins that are allowed to continue will steer visitors right back out of the door.

I remember a woman from years ago who had the habit of snapping at people who tried to help her in the kitchen. She ran more than person from the church. I was told that her family had been founding members and that was just who she was and there was nothing that we could or should do about it. The inability of pastors and councils to follow the guidelines of church discipline as given to us by Jesus in Matthew 18 has been the cause of problems in many congregations that detract from the mission of the church: proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Let us forgive one another. Let us love one another. Within the church, let us love one another enough to call a sin a sin that we might repent and grow closer to God and to one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J