relationships (Mark 10:13-16) Love and True Transition

(Mark 10:13-16)

13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Just a few verses back, Jesus was telling the disciples how bad it is to be the cause of a "young" believer to stumble!  In society, it is so easy to forget that children are not only vulnerable, but they do grow up to be adults.  And then, what kind of adults will they be if and when they have not embraced God and His salvation?

Many unbelievers with evil intentions fully understand the value of children and their vulnerabilities.  If and when children are neglected and not protected, pedophiles and sex traffickers will be grooming them, cults will be luring them in to indoctrinate them, extreme political regimes will be radicalizing and recruiting them... In the guise of love, parents will even use their children to bring themselves fulfillment, which means that these children have been born with a purpose to please their parents as their god.  Parents will also use their children as leverage against (ex-) spouses or other family members, causing the children to believe that all problems and dysfunctions within the family is somehow all their fault.

While a child might come across as quite determined and independent, they fully need both parents to be involved in their lives, to love them, nurture and care for them, and guide and equip them for life.  Most importantly, children benefit when both parents continually strive in being steadfast believers, and examples for them to follow.  Children benefit from being around communities of Christians who love, mentor and encourage them in their spiritual walk with the Lord.

Jesus loves EVERYONE!!!  We are not to be prejudiced toward anyone- it doesn't matter one's age, one's sex, one's skin color, one's financial situation... "Everyone" means "everyone"!  We do not have to start a list of which people we need to include.  By making these lists and labels, we are literally dividing people up into groups, and we will somehow exclude someone somewhere.  God does not make mistakes, but people do.  And Satan and his realm want to deceive, distort, divide and destroy with the purpose of keeping people away from God.  But God has for us a purpose of love, unity, and a better way.

Because of His great love, Jesus went to the cross for all people, of all time (past, present and future).  Anyone going to the Lord to humbly repent of their sins, will be adopted into God's family, receiving His indwelling Holy Spirit who changes us from the inside out.  It is the Lord who transitions us from the realm of sin and death to the kingdom of heaven which is eternal life, healing peace, inexplicable joy and most certain hope.