Dave's Diary

Prayer

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

Lord, help me to receive Your Word with the faith of a little child today. Amen.

Reading

Matthew 19:13-15

This is a command we must not complicate:

‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’

As was custom in the day, parents were bringing their children to the travelling rabbi, Jesus, for Him to place His hands on them and bless them. They longed for Him to speak words of love and life over their children, to declare God’s good purposes and intentions for them, and to call down the goodness and grace of God on their lives.

This was a very special and sacred custom, which we would do well to emulate today. The blessing of little children is not something we should only do at a service of dedication or baptism; it is something parents and other Christian caregivers ought to do at every opportunity.

Even though the disciples were bothered by what they evidently saw as a disruption and a distraction from the more important work of teaching adults and healing the sick, Jesus was always willing to prioritise children. Jesus longs to bless them and welcome them into the Kingdom of God. And that’s why Jesus commands us (even today) to bring little children to Him for blessing. They are His priority.

Whichever children are in your life – whether they are your own children, your grandchildren, nephews, nieces, or children of friends – make every effort to show them the love of Jesus, to speak to them about Jesus and His love for them, to read them Bible passages, to pray for them to come to know Jesus personally, and to take them to Christian ministry opportunities.

Let’s not be satisfied just to “not hinder them”. Let’s do everything we can to introduce the next generation to Jesus and His love!

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn one or more of these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, either:

• I will get rid of any behaviour or attitude in my life, which hinders children from meeting Jesus through me.
• I will do everything in my power to bless children and introduce them to Jesus and His love.

Heavenly Father, I lift the children in my life to you (… name them to the Lord). Please pour out the riches of heaven’s blessing on them and draw them to faith in Jesus, by the beautiful working of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.