“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” (Matthew 19:14)

For today’s nugget we have this very well-known quote from Jesus, recorded in the gospel of Matthew. The background for Jesus’ statement is found in the preceding verse Mathew 19:13, “Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.” It seems likely the disciples figured that Jesus had more important things to do than to lay His hands on children. However, before we judge the disciples too harshly, we need to also consider the cultural norms of the time. That said, and independent of if their treatment was valid or not, Jesus scolded the disciples because He wanted the children to come. Interestingly, the disciples tried to keep the children away so their Master could continue to teach. But the bigger teaching moment happened when the children were with Jesus. Two primary issues were addressed by Jesus in this verse. First, Jesus reinforced the idea that all can come to Him. Our Savior has no favoritism among His believers. Jesus’ death at the cross tore the curtain and granted access to all who believe. There is no such thing as being a Christian elite, we are all just Christians. Secondly, the verse introduces the concept of child-like faith. The idea that a child will accept things as true or false at face value. Jesus wants us all to return to this form of faith. The faith that says, we are saved because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Even as I’m typing this statement I want to add more, but there is nothing else to say. Put your faith in Jesus, and be saved. Period. So today we takeaway these two important facts. Jesus assures us that all can come to Him. And those who have an uncomplicated child-like faith will populate the kingdom of heaven.