“People were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place their hands on them,” (Mark 10:13 NIV)
I can picture this Bible scene unfolding; parents lined up to place their children in front of Jesus. I’ve been to mass and seen the priest bless the souls still too small to receive communion; I love imagining Jesus taking our children into His arms delighted to engage with even the littlest people. It’s interesting, we still line our kids up to sit in Santa’s lap, participating in an ancient but entirely imaginary tradition, but it makes far more sense to present them to the Savior.
Just yesterday, I was filling in for a youth parent, waiting in the pickup line for a student to finish football practice. The junior high drills went fifteen minutes long, but nobody threw a fit. All the parents just patiently waited. Yet I have youth students who can’t arrange a ride to church and parents who text from the car at 7:31; “It’s time to go, I got things to do.” My point is, we’ll prioritize everything but Jesus in our kids lives. Ball practice and music rehearsal and orthodontic adjustments and 4H, but what about Jesus? They may or may not play football or the flute for the rest of their lives but they will, one day, stand before the throne and give account of their days. As parents, how are we preparing them for that? Are we getting our kids in front of Jesus and are we letting them linger?
The disciples were business-like; Jesus is an important man and He doesn’t need to waste His time on insignificant people. Jesus’ response is beautiful:
“Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14 NIV)
There are no insignificant people in the Kingdom. Where your kid may be second string or understudy in other activities, they are always Priority A to Jesus. How would our worldview adjust if we realized that every soul is equally important to the heart of God?
As parents, our primary job in child-rearing is to bring them to Jesus. If we assess life in the light of eternity, we realize that dental appointments and immunizations and education and socialization are all good, but Jesus is essential. If we miss the opportunity to bring our kids to Him, we misplace our biggest priority in parenting. He’s willing and ready to receive our children; will we bring them to Him?
Lord, in a world awash with distractions and urgency, help us see what’s most important. Many things demand our attention, but few things deserve our utmost focus. May we bring our children to You; over and over, again and again. Thank You for receiving our kids as Your priority. Please bless them and keep them as only You can. Amen.