SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 10 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 10:13-16 ~ One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that it is good for us to be reminded of some of the qualities of a child that should influence us in our relationship with our Father:

• Their innocence – When we tell them something, they believe us and, if we are telling them something that will occur, they will expect it to happen just like we said. God has told us so much in His Word. In fact, we can find answers to all of our questions and/or struggles. However really tend to struggle with believing Him that it will happen just like He said. In fact we sometimes question if God really understands the uniqueness of our situation. There’s another verse where Jesus told the disciples, “O ye of little faith”, and that would be very appropriate to us in this scenario, because we should always be aware that God is our Father, and He knows everything about us and the struggles that we face, and only He has the solution, praise be to God!
  
• Their imagination – If you have ever encountered a time that a child came in and told you about an event to come, you will realize that they just accepted the wild imagination of a performer or perhaps built on a situation with their own imagination and developed a story that anyone will believe. As we grow older we tend to question every little thing and doubt everything that we have not seen or experienced ourselves. Friend, it is extremely difficult for us to imagine or believe the power of God, but let’s be reminded from this passage this morning that we must retain some of the qualities that we had as a child. When our Father tells us through His Word that we should follow Him, listen to Him, obey Him and do what He says – we need to just do it. Remember, we are talking here about the Maker of the universe, the One who rose from the dead after three days, the One who turned water into wine and raised the dead, He is greater than anyone or anything we can imagine…. unless we take on child-like qualities and simply place our faith in Him.
  
• Their willingness – I believe that at times kids kind of look at us and say to themselves, are you kidding me with what you just said, because perhaps it sounded far out compared to anything they had heard so far. However, I also believe that they are way more willing to accept what they are told and act upon it than what we often give them credit for. Jesus wants us to be like little children and be willing to accept Him at His word. There is lots of evidence in the Bible that prove the power, trustworthiness and dependability of our God. We should be willing to accept Him at His word. We should be ready to obey His commands.
  

Jesus will one day return to collect those that have been innocent like little children; accepted Him at His Word; followed His commands; built a relationship with Him like we would do with our earthly father; and shared His love with the world. Remember, “anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it”

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I pray that You will be patient with me. I pray that You will grant me the strength and determination to believe on You like a little child. Thank You for leading me to the cross and convicting me of my sin, but most of all thank You for forgiving me of my sin when I surrendered my life to You, and each day as I surrender my weaknesses over to You. Please help to be in such a close relationship with You that I will be mindful of all that You would have me do and say.