To set the stage for today’s devotion, Jesus was in Judea teaching about marriage and divorce, after which He segued into teaching about children. This was very appropriate, because marriage is vitally important for the stability of a child.

As He began to teach about children, people began bringing their children to Him so that He could touch them. Why would they do that? Well, many people thought He might be the Messiah; some believed He was the Son of God; regardless, most of these people at least believed that God had anointed Jesus, and if He touched their children, they would be blessed.

“…but the disciples rebuked them.” Understand, the disciples weren’t trying to be mean to the children, but in that day, children were seen as unimportant and not to be taken seriously. So, they thought they were protecting Jesus from wasting His time. Boy, were they ever wrong! Jesus became indignant and basically said, “Back off, guys! Do not stop them from coming to Me! My Kingdom belongs to people with the qualities of these little children!”

What kind of qualities was He talking about?

1. Child-like trust. You see, children trust their parents without any thought of why they trust them. That’s how Jesus wants us to come to Him – with childlike faith.
2. Children have humility. They’re not too prideful to ask for help. In fact, they are well aware that they need their parents’ help. As we grow older, oftentimes, we develop a sense of self-reliance and lose the humility to ask for help – even from God.

All of us who are teenagers and adults can learn from children what it means to know Him. It means having childlike trust. It means having the humility to recognize our need for God. Jesus teaches us we can learn a lot from children. I hope you do. I hope you will.