• We do not make the rules about who comes to Jesus; Jesus does.
We do not discriminate in who hears the gospel. We must reach all with it. Moreover, we must not place barriers in the lives of people who desire to come to Christ.
I once talked to a couple visiting my church back in Kansas. They said that they felt they were being fed on the Word, they enjoyed much about the church, but they said, “We are not lawyers or doctors, and there seems to be a rule here that you must be a professional to join this church.” I assured them that the first ones who would want them to know that they were welcomed were the young professionals in our church. But I also had to ask myself, Do we do anything in the culture of our church that would suggest that there are unwritten rules about who is in and who is not? That is a check I need to put in my own heart always. Is there a subtle unspoken suggestion in my mind that the salesman can understand the gospel, but surely this street person cannot? God forbid. This is a lesson embedded in this text. We do not make the rules about who comes to Jesus. We are here to facilitate any and all who will join the ancient line of broken people who want the touch of Jesus Christ in their lives.
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• We must remove all hindrances to children knowing the love of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was touching the babies, maybe talking with the parents about the life of their child.
When we lived in Overland Park, Kansas, we had a pediatrician who kept in his office a massive oversized frame containing snapshots all of the children he doctored. He was personally invested in the lives of babies and children. We can imagine that Jesus, who knew these babies and had ordained their lives before time ever began, had a similar sort of frame containing snapshots of all of these little ones. He was enjoying His ministry with these babies when suddenly the line stopped. He looked and saw his disciples rebuking parents for doing this. And Jesus, we are told, became indignant. This is the only time this word is used about Jesus in the New Testament. But it is this deep offense to the heart of Jesus that causes Him to say,
. . . “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God (Mark 10:14).
Jesus loves the little children and counts them among His disciples. Big disciples can create obstacles that keep little ones away. How do we do that? We can hinder children by our attitudes, inconsistencies, hypocritical living, selling them a brand of religion that does not show God’s grace and His free offer of eternal life.
There was once an ambassador who was recalled after he insulted his host country. He had acted poorly, and it was seen as reflecting the attitude of the president of the United States. It was a difficult day for that ambassador when he stood in front of the president of the United States to hear him say, “You represented me to those people. You had the responsibility of letting them know of my good will to that country. But now you have hindered their relationship with me and my nation!”
