Unleashed: As You Go – Pray
“Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.” Matthew 19:13-15
In this touching, but powerful scene captured by Matthew, Jesus rebukes the disciples for putting up barriers that keep children from coming to him. I can picture Jesus standing up and pushing aside the disciples to make a pathway for these little ones to come to Him. Jesus had a way of welcoming the marginalized of society, including children, into His kingdom.
The spirit of the disciple’s view about children continues through the generations. The English proverb, “children should be seen and not heard” dates back to the religious views of the 15th century. Our current modern attitude towards children is now closer to “not seen, not heard.”
The Care Quality Commission from the U.K. issued a report addressing child abuse and neglect. Part of their report stated, “Society has changed dramatically over the last 50 years, with leaps in technology and increased global mobility presenting new challenges. Children are groomed for sexual exploitation and radicalization on social media, and young people from certain communities can be at risk of trafficking and female genital mutilation. The number of children identified as having been abused or exploited is only the tip of the iceberg – many more are suffering in silence.”
Over the past few months, I have read of four-year-old Cash Gernon being taken from his bed in a Dallas neighborhood to be found murdered only blocks away, 12-year-old David Mack, shot and killed in southwest Atlanta, 13-year-old Floridian Tristyn Bailey stabbed to death by a 14-year-old fellow student, and a 9 year old Atlanta boy recovering after being shot.
If these stories break our hearts, how much more do they break the heart of Jesus! The value that Jesus placed upon children is being lost in our so called “modern society”. “Modern” children face a major obstacle in just being born. According to Guttmacher Institute, 18% of U.S. pregnancies in 2017 ended in abortion. Living is not easy either since, according to The American SPCC group, five children die every day in the United States from abuse while 45.4% of deaths caused by child abuse are children under the age of one year. Other life obstacles such as gender identity confusion and drug use are also prevalent.
When Jesus was asked the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He didn’t hesitate in His answer by doing a “show and tell” for them. “He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:2-5)
Helen Keller said, “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” As a father and now as a grandfather, my heart breaks to think of the challenges our children face. Yet I am reminded we have a powerful advocate for our children in Jesus. “It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.’ (Luke 17:2)
Now is the time for us as followers of Jesus to take seriously Jesus’ compassion for children and to pray against the evil that is destroying the lives of our children, the lies that are being forced upon them daily and the abuse that is physically being done daily.
Lord, hear us as we cry out to you today on behalf of our children. Restore to our children the tenderness and innocence of their childhood, protect them from the abuse of adults, the misery of drugs and the lies of the evil one.
“God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” Gal 4:6
God is great,
Pastor Lynn