Our Daily Bread – Aug 16
Big Enough / By: Elisa Morgan Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.Luke 18:16
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Luke 18:15–17 (NIV):
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
My grandson ran to the roller coaster line and stood with his back against the height-requirement sign to see if he was big enough to ride. He squealed with joy when his head exceeded the mark.
So much of life is about being “big” enough, isn’t it? To move from car seat to seatbelt and from the back seat to the front. To take a driver’s test. To vote. To get married. Like my grandson, we can spend our lives longing to grow up.
In New Testament times, children were loved but not highly valued in society until they “became of age” and could contribute to the home and enter the synagogue with adult privileges. Jesus shattered the standards of His day by welcoming the impoverished, the diseased, and even children. Three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) tell of parents bringing little children to Jesus so that He might lay hands on them and pray for them (Matthew 19:13; Mark 10:16).
The disciples rebuked the adults for what they saw as an inconvenience. At this, Jesus was “indignant” (Mark 10:14) and opened His arms to the little ones. He elevated their value in His kingdom and challenged all to become like children themselves—to embrace their vulnerability and need for Him in order to know Him (Luke 18:17). It’s our childlike need that makes us “big” enough to receive His love.
Today’s Hymns
Longing For Jesus
I Am a Child of God
Scripture to Respond:
1 Corinthians 14:20 (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.
Ephesians 4:13 (NIV)
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Reflection:
How long have you become a believer? Do you still have a childlike longing for Jesus? Does your spiritual life get stuck or continue to grow as years go by?
Prayer：
Dear God, today please let me know I need You, draw me to get close to You like a child. Help me to stay close to You every day and keep growing spiritually.
Wong Wai Tung (Chief executive officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) & Sam Chow (Administrative officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) Translated by Esther Leung
