God cares (a lot) that we guide children right
Daily Scripture
Matthew 18:6-10, 12-14
6 “As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and be drowned in the bottom of the lake. 7 How terrible it is for the world because of the things that cause people to trip and fall into sin! Such things have to happen, but how terrible it is for the person who causes those things to happen! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands or two feet. 9 If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life with one eye than to be cast into a burning hell with two eyes.
10 “Be careful that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. I say to you that their angels in heaven are always looking into the face of my Father who is in heaven.
12 What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go in search for the one that wandered off? 13 If he finds it, I assure you that he is happier about having that one sheep than about the ninety-nine who didn’t wander off. 14 In the same way, my Father who is in heaven doesn’t want to lose one of these little ones.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Jesus’ words about children were not shallow sentimentality. Jesus had sent prophets to speak to his people, and here he spoke in strongly prophetic tones. In his day (and ours), there are people happy to exploit most children’s innocence and weakness. Even more, there are too many people whose day-to-day actions and words in effect teach children that indifference, selfishness and even cruelty are right or even necessary.
- Matthew arranged Jesus’ teachings in a roughly topical way. Strikingly, he put the parable of the lost sheep with passages in which Jesus taught about God’s love for children (and those with a childlike spirit of trust). “There is nothing in this world more terrible than to destroy someone’s innocence…. To help a child to live well and to know God better is to help Jesus Christ.” * How can you seriously look at how your attitudes and example affect others, especially children?
- How do you picture the “little child” Jesus called in Matthew 18:2? N. T. Wright wrote, “I have guessed, in my translation, that ‘it’ was a girl… who would make with special clarity the point Jesus was wanting to get into the disciples’ minds: that [this child] is the clearest possible signpost to what the kingdom of God will be like…. [He] calls out a little child: shy, vulnerable, unsure of herself, but trusting with clear eyes, ready to listen, to be loved and to love, to learn and grow. This is what true greatness is like, he says.” ** How ready are you to believe Jesus’ view of true greatness?
Prayer
Dear God, when you came to live among us, you began as a little child who grew into a rabbi free of pretense or grandiosity. As I follow you, help me internalize and live out your definition of true greatness. Amen.
GPS Insights
Jennifer Creagar
Jennifer Creagar serves as the Community Assistance Coordination Director in Resurrection's Congregational Care Ministry. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography.
Today’s Scripture reminds me of a not-so-great Moment in Grandparenting. After a fun weekend watching baseball together, my youngest grandson (then about age 6) announced to his family at dinner, “Mema says the umpires are blind.” Ouch.
Children are always listening. They are always watching and processing what they see us do, hear us say, and how we interact with others. This, by the way, does not apply to just the children in our own families. Children everywhere are always watching, learning, and processing information at an amazing, alarming rate as their brains grow. They know they have a lot to learn, so they pay attention. To everything. Even the things we hope they don’t notice.
Jesus knew this, and he had some pretty harsh words for anyone who would lead a child away from the life God wants for them, and for everyone. He had been very clear with the adults who gathered around him. Love God. Love each other. Be kind. Be truthful. Care for others. Pray for those who you feel have wronged you. See everyone (even baseball umpires!) as the beloved child of God that they are. Act and speak in a way that shows this to the world.
Children need to see God’s love in action, so that they approach the world carrying God’s truth with them. They need to see it in the adults closest to them and in the strangers they don’t know but encounter every day. Another important thing they must see is the adults around them being willing to say, “I was wrong, please forgive me. I’m going to try to do better.” That’s what I had to do with my grandson–and with his father, who sometimes officiated little league basketball and baseball!
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew—Volume 2 Chapters 11–28 (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, pp. 178, 179.
** Wright, N. T., Matthew for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 16-28 (The New Testament for Everyone) (pp. 26-27). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
