And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:36-37
Jesus loves children, and children need Jesus. You and I are counted among God’s children, too.
I’ve always loved the verse above, the picture of Jesus hugging a child and proclaiming to his disciples the importance of children in God’s eyes. It is a text that obviously makes an impact on parents, teachers, anyone who is with children on a regular basis and loves them.
But have you ever pictured yourself in that scene? Imagine yourself in the center of that group, and you are the one Jesus takes into his arms and hugs.
It was in the fall of the year a little over a dozen years ago that Mom passed away. Dad had preceded her by another dozen years. I missed Dad after he was gone, but somehow I felt like I was missing Mom more, perhaps because when she died, I felt...“parentless.” Does that make sense?
Even when you’re older, I guess you need to know that someone is still around to ‘watch over you.’ Maybe that’s why occasionally now I picture myself in the middle of that scene with Jesus.
Oh, I still most often picture a little child standing there in Jesus’ arms, and I give God thanks for allowing me to love and care for children – my own, my daughter-in-law, nieces and nephews, all the kids at school, even neighbor kids. Kids are great people to be around, and Jesus has placed the children with us to nurture them and to teach them about their Savior.
Every now and then, though, it’s good to recall that you and I are also children in God’s eyes, and he loves us just as unconditionally as we love our own children. Picture yourself in his arms today.