Bless The Little Children

"Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

All are precious in His sight,

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

Many of us remember these song lyrics from our childhood. The idea that Jesus, the creator God, savior of mankind, loves and cares for little kids should be sobering to us as adults. Too often our world gets "too big" for little ones to be in the way, and we often forget to take time and invest in them as we should.

In Matthew 19 we read a story of how the disciples were trying to keep these pesky little kids away from their rabbi and master.  His response is priceless - Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Wow! We should be bringing our children to the feet of Christ to learn, to grow, and to be blessed.

Blessings are a special occurrence in the Bible. Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology  gives us an understanding of what a blessing is. First, a blessing was a public declaration of a favored status with God. Second, the blessing endowed power for prosperity and success. In all cases, the blessing served as a guide and motivation to pursue a course of life within the blessing.

Favor with God and power for success? Who doesn't want that for their kids? But how can we bless our children? David Gortner and Heather VanDeventer of buildingfaith Chrsitian Formation ministry has an excellent blog post with practical but powerful ways for Blessing Children in the Home. Take a few minutes to read and enrich your spiritual time with your kids this month!

Remember, Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Let's help our kids grow as Jesus did!