Jesus came for little children, and that is what we are. We are children of God.
In the previous chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, soon after the Transfiguration of all things, the apostles had argued about who was the greatest. Right after this passage, we meet the rich young ruler who came to Jesus based on his own actions. He came asking what he could do to be saved, looking for additional commandments and for more rules. Mark sandwiches the account told in Mark 10:13-16 between these two encounters for a reason.
Additionally, the Pharisees have just tested Jesus with questions about marriage (Mark 10:1-12). This passage flows directly out of that because, while the Pharisees are testing him with commandments and rules, Jesus turns the talk to blessings. The Pharisees were so used to getting lost in dotting i’s and crossing t’s that they lost focus on the gifts involved in the topics they considered. They majored in burdens and minored in blessings.
Jesus hadn’t come to be our heavenly lawyer. He is the Savior. He is the Bread of Life. He is grace and truth incarnate. And so he reoriented the conversation. The kingdom of heaven isn’t about law codes. The kingdom of God is a gift received through faith. The Christian life isn’t point-keeping and hair-splitting. The Christian life is grace.
Children are a blessing of marriage. As Jesus talked about marriage, people brought their children to him. Unfortunately, Jesus’ disciples thought the little ones would just get in the way, and so they rebuked the parents. They didn’t think the children belonged in Jesus’ company or could get anything out of time with him. Jesus flips their thinking, though. He not only says to let the little children come to him but insists that the disciples learn from them.
Jesus clarifies that little children can and do believe, for the kingdom of God belongs to no one apart from faith. In fact, Christ uses children as a model of belief here. This reminds us that faith isn’t math; it’s not purely or primarily intellectual; instead, it’s trust. A child doesn’t come to know its mother or father at birth intellectually. He comes to know them through a relationship. He trusts them relationally. He recognizes his dependence upon them. And he does this joyfully. This is his mom and dad, and mom and dad are the best.
We are called to be child-like, not childish. And yet faith should never become simply or primarily a head thing, a rational acceptance of a proposition.
That doesn’t mean that faith isn’t intellectual at all. This doesn’t mean that we don’t grow in understanding or application. The old children’s hymn isn’t, as a now-sainted professor of mine used to remind us, “Jesus loves me, this I know, and this is all I want to know.” We are called to be child-like, not childish. And yet faith should never become simply or primarily a head thing, a rational acceptance of a proposition. God wants all of us. And God wants all of us to be in a relationship with him. He makes us part of his family. He is our Father. Christ is our Brother.
More than a few baptistries in Christian churches have paintings of this scene. It makes sense. In baptism, we bring our little children to Jesus, and he receives them. We do well to do so. And we do well to learn from those children, too. They don’t come with rules and laws, and they don’t turn blessings into burdens. They don’t plead their own works or thoughts. They simply receive. They delight in receiving gifts. Therefore, delight to receive gifts and trust the God who gives them. Be confident of his love, and rejoice to be dependent on him for all you are and have. And grow, but grow deeper into these things, not out of them, even as you learn more through study, practice, and prayer.
Jesus came for little children, and that is what we are. We are children of God. Rejoice to be his children. Rejoice to receive his blessing, day after day, in countless ways, even in cross and trial. You are children of God. Let no one keep you from him, and keep no one from him because he blesses and keeps you.
Children aren’t ashamed of their need. Don’t be ashamed of yours. Children aren’t hesitant to ask for help. Don’t be hesitant to ask for the same. Children don’t have any notion of earning love. They delight in the love shown to them since birth. Delight in the same because you have been born again in baptism, and God loves you, not because you’ve done well, but because Christ has done well for you before you could ever do anything. He loves you simply because he does, and he always will.
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