Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ 

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Luke 18:15-17

Again we were wrong (like usual it seems). I guess that we were trying to maximize Jesus’ ministry. We meant well, but He needed organization. So that was now our “ministry.” We simply felt that Jesus’ time was our concern, and as His disciples we wanted Him to connect with those who really mattered.

The parents were bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus.

“It was the custom for mothers to bring their children to some distinguished Rabbi on the first birthday that he might bless them.”

William Barclay

Jesus made it clear that these children needed to be the focus of our ministry. Our efforts were not to be centered on adults, rather it was misguided thinking that we direct Jesus’ work to be focused and redirected. These little ones were in the way.

Up to now, Jesus’ work was for adults. Or so we thought.

There were lepers, demon-possessed, paralyzed, tax-collectors all waiting for His ministry. Somehow we overlooked the needs of little children. Again, we were wrong, misguided, and ignorant of the walk we were called to.

Trust me on this–we believed otherwise. Up to now, we assumed that maturity meant sophistication. It was all about right thinking and good theology–it was these things God was looking for. We assumed that being simple wasn’t quite what Jesus wanted from us. Rather we believed the opposite.

And sure enough, Jesus explained what we were missing.

Children were to become our focus. They were the ones who we were to emulate and esteem. The radical thing to us was understanding that these ‘little ones’ were that significant.

“Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”

Luke 18:16-17, The Message

This was like a 2×4 across the head! It was nothing less than another radical thought from our Teacher. And trust me, this wasn’t easy, but Jesus was crystal clear. We dare not think otherwise, but believing this was against all we thought the Kingdom was.

Jesus explained that childlikeness was the only way we could enter His Kingdom.

Children were now to be our examples. Their simplicity was to be our guide. Their simple innocence was how we were to see ourselves. You have no idea how extreme this was to us.

This was the Kingdom of God’s doorway into true discipleship. We carried this lesson for the rest of our lives. It was something we passed on to our disciples.

“Part of the exquisite beauty of salvation is its simplicity. Any man, woman, or child can come to Christ with absolutely nothing to offer Him but simple faith-just as they are. Salvation requires nothing more than childlike faith–believing that Jesus Christ died for my sins and accepting His gift of Salvation.”

Beth Moore