I am thankful for children.

Matthew 18:1-3, 10

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² He called a child, whom he put among them, ³ and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

¹⁰ “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven

Recently, country singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall died. One of his hit records in the 1970’s was entitled “Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine.” (If you don’t know the song, you might want to pay your respects by listening to it on YouTube.) There’s a line in the refrain of this song that says: “God bless the little children while they’re still too young to hate.”

That’s one of the reasons I thank God for children.

Children smile when the rest of us are frowning. Children hug when we would rather push someone away. Jesus said that we should become humble (maybe in the presence of God and one another) and become once more like children. God bless the little children while they’re still too young to hate.

I thank God for children.

Prayer

God our Father, no matter how old we have grown, you refer to us as your beloved children. Thank you. And now let me sit at your knee and learn again from you how to be kind, humble, and loving to all those I meet. Amen.