Hello friends! I hope everyone is having a great day so far. I pray that you will be safe, happy and blessed in all you do. Today’s focus is on Jesus and the children. I have seen people who think Jesus was saying that all children would go to Heaven. I don’t really have an opinion on that, but that’s not what He was talking about in the passage below. He wasn’t speaking of “children” at all. He was speaking of all people. Let’s read the passage.
13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
Matthew 19: 13-15
At first impression, it does seem He is saying that children will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. The key piece here is “for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” He is saying that Heaven belongs to people who approach Him with the faith and joy of a child.
Children are the perfect example of a faithful person. As their parents, we can tell them something and they will believe it simply because we are their parents. What we say or do is supposed to be right in their eyes. We can do no wrong. Oh, how I wish that were actually true. But, Jesus is that perfect parent. He cannot lie, He has no evil in Him, and He IS the Truth.
So, this is how Jesus wants us to come to Him:
- Reverent and humble: Acknowledging Him as sovereign, accepting that apart from Him there is no righteousness, and we cannot obtain it ourselves.
- Faithful: Believing in Him, trusting in Him that He is faithful and true in His promises
- Confident: Knowing that though He will accept us as we are, He will teach us how to be more like Him.
We can also see this again in Matthew.
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 25-30
That passage is so incredibly important, in more ways than one! It reinforces the “childlike faith” we are to have in Him, but it also emphasizes that things will be hidden from the “wise and learned.” Who are they? They are the self-righteous people who consider themselves wise already and think they don’t need Jesus to be a good person. Jesus is telling us that there will be people like that, and we are not to be like that too. Only when we believe and have faith in Him, will the reveal come…and He is the ONLY way. Jesus IS the way, the truth, and the life. Apart from Him, there is no way, no truth, no life. There is only death and the lies of Satan.
We can see in the verses just before those, why this is so important.
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[a] For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
Matthew 11: 20-24
So, what is He saying here? He is using the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as an example for punishment….those people did not know God and they were completely destroyed. He is saying that the people who hear His message and choose not to believe, will be worse off than the people of Sodom (who had never heard His message at all) simply because they rejected Him. If someone never hears the gospel, they don’t have a chance to accept or reject it. Their ignorance may not be their own fault (though God has spoken to everyone even before Jesus…they just may not recognize it). He is saying that willful rejection will be punished far worse than anything else. He goes on in further passages to warn about this over and over.
He warns us. Just as God warned Israel through the many prophets, some of whom they killed because of the message. After centuries of warning and many chances to repent, God carried out His punishments for those rejections. It was their own fault for not paying attention and obeying Him.
On judgment day, will you be standing on the side of the punished or will you be on the side who followed Jesus? I know what side I will be on, and I truly hope to see you there. That’s the purpose of my writing: to spread the gospel of Jesus, and hopefully bring more people to Him.
To you, the reader, I LOVE you. I don’t want to see you suffer and die an eternal death. I want to be able to give you that high-five in Heaven and celebrate that we are with God.
If you do not know Jesus as your savior, and you would like to know more, please reach out to me. I don’t claim to have knowledge of everything under the sun, but I do have knowledge of how to get to Heaven. There is one way and only one way…His name is Jesus.
Have a great day!!
The Crazy Christian Cat Lady 
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