Let the children come

Mark tells us Jesus was much displeased when He said this — one of the few times that phrase is used of Him, and it was aimed at His own disciples. Their crime: crowd control. Parents were bringing children for a blessing, the schedule was full, and the disciples did what serious adults do with unscheduled small people. Jesus was indignant about it.

That indignation is worth keeping in the house. It means the interruptions — the bedtime question about God that arrives forty minutes after bedtime, the theology raised from the car seat, the small person wanting to pray about a hamster — are not obstacles to the important spiritual work. In Jesus’ arithmetic, they are the important spiritual work. Of such is the kingdom.

Practically: the children in your home do not need a scheduled appointment with God, gatekept by adult convenience. They need the standing permission this verse gives — the sense that coming to Jesus is always allowed, always now, always met with welcome rather than a raised finger. Guard that permission. He was much displeased with the people who didn’t.