Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
Matthew 19:13-15

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:1-5

Having had the opportunity a few weeks ago to hold little Noah Sung-Joon Negley for the first time, there is no way that I could move past these two scriptures without a comment.

What a gift God gives us in the little ones in our lives. They are sweet. They are helpless. They are loveable. They are dependent. Their smiles melt us. They bring out the love in us. And Jesus tells us that they are blessed, and we should let our faith be influenced by their lives.

What a gift God gives us in our own faith. We need to allow ourselves to be dependent on God (and to be humble.) We need to remember how God smiles as we smile over life itself. We need to remember how much we are loved by the God who cradles us as a Perfect Parent, and let God’s love flow from our lives to others.

Prayer

God, help me to remember how to simply live as one of Your dear children. Let me rest in Your loving arms, through my Lord and Savior Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.