As a child, I often wondered what it would have been like to have lived during the time of Jesus. I especially liked to think about the day He invited all the children to come to Him.

    Imagine with me the account of this invitation found in Mark 10:13-16. What stories had the children heard about Jesus as they journeyed to hear Him? Did they hear that Jesus opened the ears of the deaf, given sight to the blind, raised the dead, caused the lame to walk and had even raised the dead?  I am sure that these stories filled their imaginations as they walked alongside of their parents and the others. When they arrived, Jesus was teaching, and the crowds had already gathered around Him. Perhaps some of those present put their children on their shoulders so that the children could get a glimpse of Him, while the older children stood on their tiptoes to see Jesus. At some point there was an interruption in the teaching of Jesus, and the people began to bring their children to Him. When the disciples of Jesus saw the children coming they tried to stop them.  Mark states that Jesus was greatly displeased with His disciples. The Greek work eeganakteesen is used for displeased. It means to feel deep agonizing pain. 

    What was in the heart of Jesus that caused Him to feel this deep, agonizing pain?  Did the Eternal One look through the corridors of time? As He did, did He look into our past, through our present and into our future? What was it that he saw and heard as He looked?  Did he hear the screams of the children as they were being sacrificed to Molech (Jeremiah 32:35)?  Did He hear the shrieks of the children as they were drowned in the Nile River (Exodus 1:22)? Did He hear Rachel weeping for her children? As Jesus looked into our present history, did He hear the screams of our own children? During the Holocaust, millions of children were torn from their mothers arms, tortured, starved and murdered. Did Jesus feel this? Did He see our children aborted, physically and sexually abused, addicted to drugs, and abandoned to the pain of poverty? Did He see the children of Afghanistan, India, and Ethiopia and the war torn countries of our world? As He looked into our future, what did He see? It is no wonder Jesus said, "Let the children come. Don't stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to them."  

     The disciples did not understand the place of children in the Kingdom of God. They had previously argued about who was the most important in the Kingdom (Matthew 18 and in Mark 9:33-40).  Perhaps each one hoped to hear Jesus say his name.  Instead, Jesus responded by placing a child in His arms and saying to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me." Have we like the disciples been so concerned about our importance and place in the Kingdom that we have failed to welcome the children into the Kingdom?