Jesus Loves Children

A long time ago there lived a woman who was married to man named Elkanah. She was a lovely woman who had an adoring relationship with her husband. He took special care of his wife. They might have been very, very happy except for one thing. Elkanah’s wife could not have children. Her name was Hannah. Each time Hannah was sad that she could not have children her dear husband would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8)

The sorrow in Hannah’s heart was great. All around her other women were bearing children. And in Hannah’s culture and time, bearing children was the finest thing a woman could do. And bearing a son was her crown of glory.

Hannah and her husband used to go to church regularly. She would go to church and there she would pray, weep and moan in sorrow. She was so sad and it seemed that the only place where she could find any kind of comfort was in God’s house. It was there that she prayed, “O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life . . . “ (1 Samuel 1:11)

That really is an extraordinary prayer, isn’t it? A woman who cannot have children asks for a child and then promises that child back to the Lord! What longing and what faith!

One day the priest was in the temple. He saw a woman who seemed to be drunk. She was mouthing words and wasn’t making any sounds. So, he went over to her and said, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.” (1 Sam. 1:14)

The priest greatly misunderstood her situation, didn’t he? Sorrow can cause us to act in strange ways. He was going to make sure that no drunk woman would disrupt the services and prayers.

But Hannah, in her sorrow, quickly responded to the priest, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” V.15-16

In a moment the priest realized her sincerity and her grief. He gently and kindly bent down and said to her, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” (v. 17)

Hannah was a real woman with a real desire. She very appropriately took her desire to the Lord in the Temple. The priest’s name was Eli and he had been serving there many years.

I imagine Eli prayed for Hannah quite sincerely after that encounter. And I know that the Lord was listening to both prayers. The next thing we can read is that Hannah found herself pregnant! What a blessed answer to prayer. And do you know what she named him? Samuel—and that means “heard of God.” God listened to her prayers and gave her a marvelous bundle of joy.

Hannah was a woman of her word. She did not go back on her agreement with the Lord. Remember she had said that if he gave her a son, the son would be given back to the Lord. And she had a specific way to give him back. Now this is truly amazing to me. Her commitment to the Lord was so great that she told her husband that after Samuel was eating food on his own that she would take him to the temple and he would live there the rest of his life! This doesn’t seem to make much sense does it? Ask God for a child and then give him back to God—literally?! But Hannah was a woman of integrity and a woman of gratefulness. God had taken away her misery and heard her prayers.

In Chapter 1:26 we read, “They brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.”

There is something remarkable and wonderful about this story. Not only do we understand that God hears our prayers, but we find here the reality that God values children. They are not rug-rats or ankle-biters to him. They don’t get in the way or prevent him from doing what needs to be done. They are glorious and wonderful gifts given to a man and a woman. They are beautiful and shining gifts to the world full of potential and joy. In all of the difficulties fraught with raising children—the sleepless nights, the tests of the will, the tantrums, the illnesses—God loves children. I believe that God loves children even more than Hannah did.

The greater proof of that is in how God relates with children. I want you to look at what happened to little Samuel.

1 Samuel 3

1.The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

2.One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.

3.The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4.Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."

5.And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

6.Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

7.Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

8.The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.

9.So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10.The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

11.And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 12.At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end.

13.For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.

14.Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.' "

15.Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

16.but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am."

17."What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you."

18.So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes."

19.The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.

20.And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.

21.The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

God loves children so much that he calls them by name even before they know to know him. Part of our great theology is that God protects and harbors children in their innocence. Before a child “comes of age” or can acknowledge receiving the Word of God for salvation, they are covered by his grace.

Hannah must have felt deep separation and consolation as she left her gentle boy at the temple. Hannah knew that God knew her child, and she left him for God’s great future. And what a future indeed! Samuel served for years and years as the great priest of Israel giving guidance, comfort, peace and truth as he lived for the Lord.

God reveals his love for children over and over in the Bible. Let’s go to the book of Mark for some more examples of God’s love for children. If we start looking at chapter 5 we find a wonderful story there as well. In this passage we find a situation similar to Hannah’s in that a parent is distressed about their child.

Mark 5:21-43

21.When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.

22.Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet

23.and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."

24.So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.

25.And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.

26.She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

27.When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,

28.because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed."

29.Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30.At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

31."You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

32.But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

33.Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

34.He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

35.While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"

36.Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

37.He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.

38.When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.

39.He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep."

40.But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.

41.He took her by the hand and said to her, ""Talitha koum!"" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").

42.Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

43.He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Do you know what I love about this story? I love the fact that Jesus did not think that a child was a nuisance or less of a priority. There were people crushing around Jesus, all of them crying out for his attention and wanting something from him. Jairus, desperate for his daughter, was trying his best to lead Jesus quickly to his home. I can see him pushing people aside, begging them to clear the way. If any of you have had children desperately ill, only you can know the urgency and anguish of those moments or hours. But then Jesus stopped. Can you imagine Jairus’s reaction to this? There’s an old woman whose life is half spent and Jesus stops for her while his precious daughter is dying!

And then Jairus got the worst news of his life—his daughter had died. For you and for me death is quite final, isn’t it? But for Jesus, death is just another opportunity to prove his love for us. Jairus must have broken down weeping or perhaps he lashed out in anger, or maybe he just crumbled in a heap on the street. None of that mattered though, because you see, Jesus loves children as much as he loved adults. To the old woman he said, “Your faith is great.” To the heartbroken father he said, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” And to the little girl he said, “Get up now, little girl.”

Some of us may have lost children. Some of us may have begged God to heal them and he took them to heaven instead. I have something to say to you. Jesus loves you and your child. He knows their suffering and sorrow as well as yours. He took that precious one into his arms when you had to let go. Some of you have had children on the brink of death. And you have seen the wonder-working power of God.

Many years ago a great hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby penned moving words of poetry after the death of her infant child. In her grief she realized that both she and her child could be safe with Jesus. “Safe in the arms of Jesus. Safe on His gentle breast—There by His love o’rshaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest.” All of our lives, no matter what our experiences, we must understand that God loves children.

The next scene in Mark is quite wonderful. Usually when we want to make a point about greatness we pick out the biggest and the strongest, don’t we? Not so with Jesus. He points down to greatness and humbles us all.

Mark 9:33-37

33.They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?"

34.But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35.Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

36.He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them,

37."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."

The disciples are doing the usual adult thing—competing for greatness. In their minds were all the good deeds they were accruing, all the noble acts they had been performing, all the nights of prayer and contributions to the treasury were certainly adding up brownie points and getting them up that great ladder of success. And then Jesus points down.

Look at that precious child, so beloved by Jesus. He probably didn’t even understand what was going on, yet he did what Jesus asked of him. He stood obediently in the middle of a crowd of prideful adults, just being who he was—the greatest role model of all. And then Jesus picked him up, cradled him in his strong carpenter’s arms and said, “If you know this child, if you accept this child, if you love this child, then you love me.” Isn’t that incredible?! All the to-do lists of legalistic behavior just get tossed in the fire. Every one of those adults with their shameful bickering were silenced by the reality of the humble openness and obedience of a child.

There is one more scene in Mark we can look at. This scene takes places just days after Jesus held that little one in his arms. You would think that by this time the disciples had learned their lesson, wouldn’t you?

Mark 10:13-16

13.People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

14.When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

15.I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

16.And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

The text says that Jesus was indignant. Do you know what indignant means? “Anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy or mean.” (Webster’s Dictionary) How were the disciples unjust? They were disqualifying a child from access to Jesus Christ. Children are to have unrestricted access to Jesus. Woe! And I mean whoa! Keeping a child from Christ harms that child! And do you know what Jesus said about people who harm children? In Luke 17:2-3 he declares, “It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.”

I wonder sometimes in our adult-oriented world how we might be keeping the little ones from coming to Jesus. Does our attitude toward children keep them at bay? Do our reactions to them when they are not behaving the way we want them to communicate a distaste or a dislike for children? Hopefully we have created an environment where children are loved, accepted and deeply appreciated. Hopefully we have worked hard at creating a place that is safe for them. And when a child feels safe and loved by adults, their little hearts can be so open to learning about and receiving the love of God.

Those poor old disciples were so thick-headed. Once again they had their priorities wrong. The first time it was all about their place in heaven. The second time it was all about other adults. Both times, Jesus affirmed that children are the first in line in the Kingdom of God and that children are beloved by him.

God loves children. He calls them by name. He gives them equal importance in the Kingdom of God. God has made children the ultimate role models for following him. And we are to grant children unrestricted access to Jesus who loves them very much.

I’ve got to tell you that one of my favorite things each Sunday is seeing the kids come into church, sit with an adult and participating in worship. More than that I love it when they run up to me wanting to share the Scripture verse they just memorized or the craft they did that describes their relationship to God. This is their kingdom and they are given rights and privileges by the One who loves them best and most.

Children I want you to know today the Jesus loves you very much. He knows your name just as well as he knew Samuel’s. He told us adults that the way you accept him—with open hearts and much faith—is how we adults are supposed to do that. So, thank you, children for being who you are. We love you and want to follow Jesus the way you follow him.

Amen

Copyright M.R.Hyde 2011