Good morning boys and girls!
Has anyone ever told you to get lost or go away? |Has anyone ever told you that they didn’t want you around? How did that make you feel?
There is one person who will never tell us to go away. In fact, he wants all of us to come close to him. His name is Jesus. Let me explain by reading a story to you from Mark 10:2-16.
One day, Jesus and his friends were walking along the beautiful coast of Judea. As they were walking and talking, and discussing the news of the day, other people saw Jesus and wanted to hear what he was saying. Soon there was a very large crowd of people following Jesus. Some of them were sick, and Jesus touched them and made them well. Others had questions they wanted to ask and listened carefully as Jesus answered them.
There was a group of people called "Pharisees," who were leaders in the temple. They liked to have long discussions and especially enjoyed arguing and trying to trick one another. When the Pharisees heard that Jesus was nearby, they left their work and rushed to join the crowd. They were having a good time asking questions and trying to trick Jesus, but, of course, Jesus knew what they were trying to do, and He gave them perfect answers every time. They could not trick Jesus!
While the Pharisees were having their discussion with Jesus, some mothers joined the crowd. They knew Jesus was a very important man, and they wanted their children to have a chance to see Him. Holding the hands of their children, they pushed through the crowd, trying to get closer.
When Jesus' friends saw the mothers and children trying to get to the front to see Jesus, they scowled roughly. "Go away! Don't you know that Jesus is an important man? Can't you see that he is busy talking with the leaders of the temple? Take your children and go home!" Sad and dejected, the mothers turned to guide their children back the way they had come and away from the crowd.
However, Jesus loved children very much and had a different idea about the situation. He turned to his friends and kindly said, "No, don't send them away. Let the children come to me." Jesus' friends quickly worked to make a path through the crowd so the mothers and children could get up close to Jesus. The mothers were full of joy and excitement as Jesus reached out his arms toward their children!
One by one, He scooped up the younger children into His loving Arms, held them close, and prayed a special prayer of blessing. He gave each of the older children a tender hug and also prayed a blessing for them. He spoke gently to the mothers and gave them a smile of approval. After each one had seen Jesus and been blessed, Jesus spoke to his friends, the Pharisees, and the rest of the crowd, saying, "Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God as a child does, will not be able to enter into it." He was trying to help them all understand that loving God is easy enough for a child to do, and all their long discussions and arguing were unnecessary.
Here’s another story about how much Jesus loves us. It’s a story about a little girl named Susie. One morning Susie mother said to her, “Do you want to come with me to Saturday School?”
“What’s that,” said Susie, “I already went to school.”
“Saturday School is a place for children who would be home alone all day on Saturday,” said her mother. “How come?” said Susie. “Because they don’t have a daddy or they don’t have a mommy and there is no one to stay home on Saturday,” said her mother.
“You mean they have to go to school another day because they don’t have a daddy or mommy,” said Susie. “That’s not fair. It’s not their fault. I wouldn’t want to have to do school work on Saturday.”
“We don’t do a lot of school work,” said her mother. “It’s fun. You’ll see. You can help.”
That night after Susie had taken a bath and tidied up her room, her mother came in for a Bible reading and prayers. They sat together on the bed and opened the Bible to a picture of Jesus sitting down talking to children. A little girl was on his knee and others were standing around him. He looked happy and so did the children.
“Did Jesus teach Saturday School?” said Susie. “Well, you know,” said her mother. “He probably did when he lived in Nazareth.”
“Are those children with Jesus because they don’t have a mommy or daddy?” said Susie.
“I don’t know,” said her mother. “But I do know that Jesus wants them to have mommies and daddies, and if they don’t Jesus would give them special attention.”
“Is that why we went to Saturday School today?” said Susie. “To give the children special attention like Jesus.” “Yes,” said her mother, “We were being like Jesus.”
“I like being like Jesus,” said Susie.
All of you are here today because someone loved you enough to bring you here. It doesn’t matter if that person is your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles or even a neighbour or close friend. We are thankful for each and every one of you and for the people who loved you enough to bring you here.
Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes for a moment of prayer. Dear God, we love the children just as Jesus loved them and we are thankful that these children have someone who loves them enough to bring them to Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
