Saturday, April 18, 2009

go go go see what I see

Mark 10:13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Parents brought .....yes it is up to us to bring our children. They may have faith, they may have a natural instinct but there is a responsibility and love that we have as parents and guardians that gives us the ability to bring our young to Jesus. We are faced with the questions they have. We are the ones who should be considering how their lives are going and what would help them to keep 'placing God in the centre of their lives'.

If we are not helping them learn this fundamental aspect of our lives in Christ then we are failing them miserably.In this passage I can almost see the children reaching out the Lord with all their hope and excitment focused on Christ with the encouragement and joy of their parents behind them.

This week at Hampton Court Palace I witnessed a lady pushing her two children forward to get their photo taken with the 'King' Henry the VIII. Go Go Go she forcefully said as she pushed her two children forward. They did not want to move forward, they hesitated and resisted! not the picture we like to imagine of children moving forward to touch Jesus! Yes there is a simplicity that children have but there is also a focus. The children that were brought forwrd to Jesus needed healing, much like the blind man on the road or the woman who bled. All these people believed that Jesus could heal them and all moved toward him.

My prayer is that we will help our children gain a love and faith in Jesus rather than give up once they are to old for bedtime stories. Once they move into the zone of questioning we know they also move into the zone of awe wondering. Just as we nudge each other and say 'wow' so our children can join with us and nudge us and we all can say wow together as we build our knowledge and relationship with Jesus who we need to be moving toward. As we look out for where he is then we can be sure that we will see him at work and be moving forward without hesitation or resistance as our faith will be built and will be stong enough to say to others 'Go Go Go, See what I see - The Kingdom of God'.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Mark 10
13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Parents brought .....yes it is up to us to bring our children. They may have faith, they may have a natural instinct but there is a responsibility and love that we have as parents and guardians that gives us the ability to bring our young to Jesus. We are faced with the questions they have. We are the ones who should be considering how their lives are going and what would help them to keep 'placing God in the centre of their lives'. If we are not helping them learn this fundamental aspect of our lives in Christ then we are failing them miserably.

In this passage I can almost see the children reaching out the Lord with all their hope and excitment focused on Christ with the encouragement and joy of their parents behind them.

This week at Hampton Court Palace I witnessed a lady pushing her two children forward to get their photo taken with the 'King' Henry the VIII. Go Go Go she forcefully said as she pushed her two children forward. They did not want to move forward, they hesitated and resisted! not the picture we like to imagine of children moving forward to touch Jesus!

Yes there is a simplicity that children have but there is also a focus. The children that were brought forwrd to Jesus needed healing, much like the blind man on the road or the woman who bled. All these people believed that Jesus could heal them and all moved toward him.

My prayer is that we will help our children gain a love and faith in Jesus rather than give up once they are to old for bedtime stories. Once they move into the zone of questioning we know they also move into the zone of awe wondering. Just as we nudge each other and say 'wow' so our children can join with us and nudge us and we all can say wow together as we build our knowledge and relationship with Jesus who we need to be moving toward. As we look out for where he is then we can be sure that we will see him at work and be moving forward without hesitation or resistance as our faith will be built and will be stong enough to say to others 'Go Go Go, See what I see - The Kingdom of God'.