Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Mark 10:13-15 in our “Kingdom Living” series. He said that Jesus is inviting us to receive his kingdom like children. Lector: Kim Layman
Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Mark 10:13-15 in our “Kingdom Living” series. He said that Jesus is inviting us to receive his kingdom like children. Lector: Kim Layman
Today's passage teaches us how to enter the Kingdom of God.
A big question. Asked multiple times in the Gospels, and every day by most humans.
"How can I be saved? How do I get to heaven? What must I do?!"
Jesus says "receive the kingdom like little children."
But what in the world does that actually mean?
One reason this is such a confusing statement is because of our own experiences as children and parents.
In other words, something comes to each of our minds when we think "be like a kid".
Some of us don't realize how rough our childhood was until we have children ourselves.
The way we love our little ones is often a reflection, or a reaction, to the way we were loved.
And the Bible has a lot to say about both of these, usually in the form of stories.
Look at how this one begins:
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.
Mark 10:13
We learn something about the parents' the Bible thinks worth mentioning
These parents wanted good things for their children, put them in position to receive something good from God.
These parents were attuned to the well being of their children.
And very few of us had parents like this.
Very few of us had parents that we felt safe to talk to, or who knew the secret of who we really were, what we really needed.
And then we end up more like the disciples with greatness on our minds.
Feeling unseen by parents, we want to be seen by the world, make a name for ourselves
In our families, we were meant to feel 3 fundamental things:
Trust: I know you'll show up for me. Safety: I am OK to be me, physically, emotionally, spiritually. 3. Love: I belong, you delight in me.
When one of those three is missing, something core to our souls is missing
When one of those three is missing, or lacking, we become a distorted version of ourselves
And how might that affect the way we parent?
See, when we try to imagine being kids again, that typically brings up pain.
Either pain over what we've lived, or pain as our failures as parents, amen?
But the Bible helps us imagine a world of trust, safety, and love.
So embrace the discomfort that arises here, turn your imaginations on, and let's try and see how Jesus is inviting us to receive his kingdom like children.
Some of Us know the pain these parents felt. Tried to do the right thing!
Maybe you've felt those nerves when your kid starts crying in church.
We are a pro kid crying in church church.
I mean don't make them do it, but it's a sound of life. A silent church is a dead church.
The disciples couldn't imagine something holy happening amongst the sounds of children. They didn't welcome the little ones, they scolded the parents.
But then Jesus steps in:
Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
-Mark 10:14-15
Jesus is inviting us to receive the kingdom like children.
He does not use the influential or powerful as the model of faith, but children.
Did you know the Bible references children over 500 times?
But only half of them are literal.
In other words, half the time the Bible talks about children, it does so in an imagination-shaping-way.
These are healing stories for our own broken homes.
It's less important what comes to our minds when we think children and more important to know what Jesus thought of.
Hard to summarize 500 verses, but let's give it a shot.
When Jesus thought of children, he thought of:
1. Simplicity
(see Psalm 103:13, Luke 9:48)
Luke 10 tells us that children understand things "hidden from the wise."
Namely, they understand what it means to be saved by grace.
Simple means uncomplicated, straight forward.
Jesus says "here you can have this." Simplicity says, "thank you!"
What do adults say? Hem and haw, fight and fuss, but-what-about on and on.
It's so exhausting the way we try to talk ourselves out of a gift from Jesus.
But children know how to receive a gift.
They aren't expecting the other shoe to drop...have you noticed?
How often has something good happened in your life and you spend the next few days on edge waiting for something bad to happen next?
Children don't ask if they deserve it. Children don't worry what will happen next.
When a child is given a gift, they receive it without question.
And so it is with the kingdom of God.
If you want to come to life, be forgiven, be made clean...IT'S YOURS FOR THE TAKING
Jesus is inviting you to receive his kingdom like a child.
Simply say "THANK YOU!" And follow Jesus! "That sounds simple." It's so simple!
You don't wring our hands and work ourselves to exhaustion to earn it...we receive it.
It's a gift of grace because God loves you.
Maybe you didn't have a parent that delighted in giving you a gift, and that makes this hard.
Which is why we have a whole book of stories about God doing things for us we don't deserve simply because he loves us.
Jesus is inviting us to receive his kingdom like children.
2. Learning
(See Deuteronomy 1:39, 4:9-10; Josh 4:6; Ps 34:11)
In Matthew 18, Jesus holds up children as a model of teachability.
This is because children who know they are loved are eager to listen and learn.
We've somehow decided that children are going to rebel as teenagers.
American tradition, kids don't listen, we joke about it, we expect it etc.
you know why kids rebel? Trust, safety, and/or love are missing.
They're hungry for it, so they go looking for it. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Luke 9:48, 10:21, 18:16, Matthew 18:2-4...Jesus praises children for being teachable.
Children long for structure in a loving, safe, trusting environment.
They want clarity, by nature they're eager to learn.
Imagine a father and son. The son knows dad loves him, dad is for him, dad is safe, good, wise, and strong. Dad says "son, meet me around back for a few minutes." What will the son say?
He'll listen, he'll obey, he'll follow. So it is in the Kingdom of God.
We are loved. We are safe. We belong.
We have a father who is good, wise, and strong.
We don't always understand why we're meeting dad on the side of the house.
Maybe for a talk. Maybe for some yard work. Maybe for a present.
But we know dad. We trust dad. And so we listen.
To be like a child is to learn you are loved, safe, and can trust God. So you listen.
If you want to come to Jesus, he says "be baptized." Lots of questions there!
What, why, how, when etc. but we're children, so we listen to him, and we'll learn what it was all about down the road.
Jesus is inviting us to receive the kingdom like children.
3. Dependence
(See Job 17:5; Ex. 20:5; Hos 4:6)
Children depend on their parents for their well being, and parents' depend on their children to maintain the family reputation.
Children trust their parents for love and safety, this empowers the kid to be who he/she is, not some version of themselves striving to find a place.
And these kinds of children say something to the world about their family.
This is brought to light when Jesus says things like you'll know a tree by its fruit
Or even more poignantly, to his disciples, he says:
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
-John 13:35
The more we learn to depend on Jesus, the more we experience a place of trust, love, and safety.
This changes the way we live.
This changed life shows the world how good our family is
In the years to come, it will not be articulate, persuasive Christians that draw people to Jesus.
It will be beautiful Christians, coming fully alive, displaying the power of a life transformed.
It will be Christians who know they are loved and safe, confident they can trust God, that live and love in a way that makes the world see Jesus.
Jesus is inviting us to receive his kingdom like children.
This is not a command, this is an invitation
Nothing in your life has shaped you the way your family of origin did.
The way you love is a reflection of the way you have been loved.
And so, to reshape you, to heal you and set you free, God brings you into a new family.
To undo the distortions of your childhood, God invites you to become a child again in his family.
And maybe you don't know this, but no one is trustworthy, safe, or loving like God is.
One of the most consistent ways God's character is summarized in the Bible is by the phrase "unfailing love."
You want to know what our family's father is like? Go find that word in the Bible.
Here's a handful of examples:
The word of the Lord holds true, and we can TRUST everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the UNFAILING love of the Lord fills the earth
-Psalm 33:4
The unfailing love of God saves us
Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your UNFAILING LOVE.
-Psalm 6:4
The unfailing love of God calms us and produces joy
I TRUST in your UNFAILING love; my heart rejoices in your salvation...the king TRUSTS in the Lord; through the UNFAILING love of the Most High he will not be shaken
-Psalm 13:5; 21:7
The unfailing love of God surrounds and protects us
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's UNFAILING love surrounds the one who TRUSTS in him.
-Psalm 32:10
The unfailing love of God is a priceless place of refuge:
How priceless is your UNFAILING love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
-Psalm 36:7
We could do this all day. This is what you father is like, and this is The family he's producing.
And we see this most clearly, we see god's heart most vividly, in Jesus himself.
God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
-Romans 5:8
Can I do one more? Let me give you a famous one:
This is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
-John 3:16-17
This is the kind of family we are invited to join, and in this kind of family we are invited to be kids again
Innocent. Eager to learn. Dependent as we show the world how beautiful God is.
Can you imagine what the world would think if we took this invitation seriously?
Can you imagine who you might become if you trusted God, knew you were loved, and knew you were safe?
What might happen if you knew, in Christ, you are enough?
You are delighted in, you are loved, you are safe.
You know what we call that? What happens in that environment? It's called redemption. Recreation. Salvation.
Jesus is inviting us to receive the kingdom like children.
Let's pray.