Brown Suits

Ok, so today I cried. I cried silently, tears streamed down my face and dropped into my lap while I read an e-mail from my mom. My two younger brothers are off shopping for brown suits. Luke doesn’t know it yet but I was just informed that he is not shopping for a ring bearers suit but rather a groomsman’s suit, my lap’s getting wet again. I’m beyond happy, Luke’s going to be so excited and I’m so proud of Neil for doing this. I think Luke will remember this for the rest of his life!

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:5

I don’t want this to be a sermon but rather some thoughts that I’ve been mulling over since a sermon I heard by the CEO of Compassion, Dr. Wesley K. Stafford. He’s a good man.

Jesus is passionate about children. So passionate about children. When he talks about children or includes children His might and wisdom explodes my world. I have a new understanding of what he says in Matthew 19. He’s been talking with his disciples about divorce, probably surrounded by a large crowd of people, which included mothers who only want the best for their children, and children who only want to run around and play. The adults however are talking about some important business, which has been going on for a while. If you look back a chapter you see that while they were travelling to Capernaum the disciples were arguing about something very important to them and from Mark 9 I get the sense that Jesus just let them do so, he didn’t get involved but man it was probably annoying for Him. “Who will be the greatest” and they each probably had a good premise for themselves.

When asked about what they were arguing about no one spoke. Then with strong, rough, coarse hands he plunks a little child in front of them all. Then he picks the child up, high off the ground and holds, with arms of love. He says “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:37) Matthew includes a little more and I like what he includes because Jesus isn’t necessarily the person portrayed in the paintings. He was a man a real manly man.

He grew up a carpenter with out power tools. He would have been huge! His face was probably dark and dirty, with a wild head of hair. His voice deep and powerful used to speaking to large crowds. This man looks at his loved disciples and holds nothing back telling them to humble themselves like a child and to not cause one to sin. “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:5) This is pretty clear to me. Jesus absolutely loves children.

Now it’s the next day or so and everyone’s around talking about something a child would not want to talk about and the disciples are right into the conversation, probably getting annoyed by the children who are playing around making noise. It comes to the point where they can’t put up with it any more and they straight up tell the people who brought the kids to get out of there! Jesus is now angry “indignant!” from what I’ve heard and read he only really gets angry twice in the bible. Once at the temple and there he drives people out with a whip. He’s a manly man. The other time is here when the disciples rebuke the children from seeing Him.

I don’t think Jesus was just sitting in the dirt talking with the disciples and said as a matter of fact “let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” I think Jesus was standing, walked forward, moved the people in the way out of the way and said with a loud, quivering, on the verge of losing it voice “LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, AND DO NOT HINDER THEM, FOR THE KINGDOM (do you not understand?) THE KINGDOM OF GOD BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE” (Mark 10:14) then he took the children in his arms. He looked each one in the eyes showing them individually their importance and value. Jesus shows us the value of children.

Man I miss my family they’re awesome. I miss children.

C.