But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:14
Out of the blue, my adorable three-year-old granddaughter with her wispy blond curls, big blue eyes, and dimpled cheeks proclaimed, bereft of any shyness, "I keep farting in the car." It took her mother and me by surprise, yet being tickled by her innocent honesty, we snickered. I asked, "Did you eat beans today?" She responded, "Yes!" Her mother, thoroughly amused at this point, said, "She did not!" but was quickly corrected by this wise three-year-old with, "I had jelly beans!"
Children are so cute, but they can also be quite a handful. Parents sometimes suffer embarrassment as youngsters speak freely and do things in public without any reservations. Mortified parents watch with chagrin when they pick their noses, squirm, are easily distracted, cry unabashedly, giggle at inappropriate times, point their fingers at someone, belch, lie, or blurt out something we said in secrecy. They have not yet learned proper public etiquette. They merely do what adults do behind closed doors.
Jesus looks at us adults in the same light as His little children. We may have learned to restrain ourselves in public, but He sees us all the time. Even when we tell lies and hurtful truths, God says, "I love you." He sees us point our fingers in condemnation; God says, "I love you." He hears us asking why when we should obey; God says, "I love you." We squirm with anxiety when we should trust Him, and God says, "I love you."
Jesus said, "Suffer little children. . .to come unto me." He suffers our abuse of Him daily, and He still says, "Come." We all fart in the car, pick our noses, behave rudely at times, laugh when we shouldn't, and we all sin. God still reaches out to us and says, "I watched you sneak your hand into the candy jar to gorge on jelly beans, but I love you just as you are. Come to me and take part in my kingdom of heaven."
Thank you, Christ, for loving and accepting me just as I am. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment