“Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14)
When Jesus traveled through the land declaring the good news of God’s coming Kingdom, many people came to listen to Him, sometimes in their thousands. They were curious to hear His words and hoped to see some miracles. After all, Jesus had already healed many people, cast out demons and done other extraordinary things. That attracted quite a bit of attention!
In Mark 10, Jesus is engaged in theological discussions about marriage and divorce. These are important topics for adults. Children are not welcome, — so Jesus’ disciples thought. When mothers wanted to come to Jesus with their children, the disciples sent them away. But Jesus did not agree! He even became angry with His disciples and invited the children to come to Him. He embraced them and blessed them. “For to such belongs the Kingdom of God,” He said.
The disciples had their own ideas about what was important to Jesus and about who was important to Jesus. But they were completely mistaken! For Jesus, theological debates are not the most significant, but rather those who want to come to Him.
Do you also feel the need and the longing to come to God?