Be a Child Before God. Saturday 19th Week Ordinary Time of the Year B

 Breakfast With the Word Saturday 19th Week Ordinary Time of the Year B

 

Matthew 19:13-15

 

To be a child before God is an attitude that can bring a lot of blessings to you. To be a child before God can give you the strength to undergo great challenges in life. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to those who make themselves a child before God. 

 

In today’s gospel, some people brought some little children to Jesus, for Him to lay His hands on them and say a prayer for them. The disciples of Jesus turned them away, but Jesus says to them, ‘Let the little children alone and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then He laid his hands on them and went on His way.

 

In essence, through this statement, Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom of God belongs to people who humble themselves like little children before God. 

 

Read More

 

Marriage and Divorce: This is What Jesus Says

 

These are the Reasons You Must Forgive. Thursday 19th Week Ordinary Time

 

 

What to do If Anyone Sins Against You. Wednesday 19th Week

 

 

Do These If You want to bear Fruit. Feast of Saint Lawrence.

 

 

Jesus Has dominion Over Everything.

 

 

Jesus As the Bread of Life. Sunday 19th Week

 

 

 

To Come to Jesus.

 

The gospel today says that some people bring the children to Jesus Christ. They do not tell us who the people are. It may be their parents, close associates, etc.

 

We do not know whether the children decided on their own to come to Jesus or the people just brought them to Jesus. But in the Jewish culture, children are often brought to rabbis and elders to be blessed, customarily by placing hands on them (cf. Gen 48:14; Matt 9:18, 20; Mark 10:16). 

 

So, it is either the children are seeking the blessing from Jesus or that the people who bring them are the ones seeking that Jesus blesses them. But whichever way, the children did not hesitate to go to Jesus. 

 

They were open and willing to come to Jesus. Therefore, to be a child of God is to be open to Jesus and willing to come to Him often. When you make yourself a child before God, you will always have hunger for His presence. Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to these kinds of people.

 

In John 6:35, He says that anyone who comes to me will never go hungry”. Therefore to come to Jesus is the secret of blessings, graces, salvation and eternal life. 

 

 

2. They seek Only For Blessing.

 

 

 

In Genesis 27:29, Isaac blesses Jacob and the generational blessing flows with Him. Also, in Numbers 6:22-27, God instructs the priests to continue to speak words of blessings over the people regularly (Numbers 6:22-27). 

 

In essence, there is something in a blessing. The power of blessing can be life-changing.

 

In today’s gospel, the children or the people who bring the children to Jesus know this. This is the reason they are not seeking financial support. Those people are not seeking material things. The people did not come to Jesus to ask for clothes or shelter. They come seeking His blessings only. 

 

They know that the blessings of God is the foundation stone and then other things could follow. Therefore, to be a child before God is to truly acknowledge that God’s blessings are everything that you need. When He breathes on Your path, great things can happen. 

 

As the children approach Jesus to bless them, I encourage our parents to bless their children always.

 

The blessings of a mother or father can open closed doors that we may not even expect. Also, always meet your spiritual fathers to speak words of blessings to you. Never underrate the power of blessings. Everything must not end in material acquisitions. 

 

Life is larger than logic. To be a child before God is to acknowledge that truly God is who made you who you are. This alone will make you humble and make you keep your faith strong in Him. Seek for God’s blessings always. 

 

In the morning, ask God to bless you, in the night ask Him to bless you, every moment ask Him to bless you. Doing this alone is telling God that He is everything to you, Just as parents are everything to a child.

 

In essence, to be a child before God is to acknowledge wholeheartedly that God is everything to you. 

 

 

Do Not Stop Them.

 

 

When the people brought the children to Jesus, the disciples decided to stop them. We do not know their reason for such an attitude. Maybe they did that not to allow them to disturb Jesus, in the same way, they wanted to stop the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28). 

 

The disciples may think that they are the people who give people access to Jesus. They decide who and when one is to meet Jesus.

In the same way, there are people who think that your blessing lies on their hands.

There are people who feel that without them, you can never succeed in life. Like the disciples try to stop these people from receiving blessings from Jesus, there are people in your life who have tried everything humanly possible to stop your blessings.

 

Some of them have tried to block or stop you. But like Jesus still blesses those children, He will always bless you. No man or woman can stop it. God blesses those He wants to bless. No hatred, wickedness or jealousy can stop God’s blessings for you.

 

 

2. The disciples want to stop them, but Jesus says “‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me”. This confirms what Jesus says in John 6:37, that anyone who comes to me, I will never send away”.

 

It also means that Jesus is always open to receive everyone. He is willing to bless anyone who can come to Him.

 

Therefore, to be a child before God is to come to Him always and seek for His blessings.

 

It also means to acknowledge His love for you both in good and in bad times. The child does not abandon His parents when things become so difficult. 

 

 

So, we do not abandon God or become angry with God when we do not get what we want in prayer. 

 

Our parents do not always give us what we want. But they give us what we need to survive. Let us always relate with God in such a way.

 

Also, unlike the disciples who try to stop the people, do not stop anyone who comes to you for help.

 

Let us be willing to be available to people who may need your prayers, advice and counseling and support.

 

To be a child before God is to acknowledge that all we have, God gives us.

 

You did not make yourself who you are, God made it possible. And if God gives them to us, we do not use them to boast or intimidate anybody but to use them to touch lives and save souls. 

 

 

The Kingdom of God belongs to Them.

 

 

In the gospel, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God belongs to people who are little children before God. He says “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.

 

 

Therefore, “such as these ” means people like this, or those who behave like this, or the people who act like little children when it comes to relationship with God.

 

There are few qualities in a child we can enumerate especially when it comes to their relationship with their parents. They are:

 

 

1.The Child loves his parents and can go to any extent to defend them. Whatever you do to the parents, will also touch the little child.  So, Let us love God with all our hearts.

 

2.There is also a kind of a close bond between a child and the parents. They always have this close and hearted communion. The family bond is very strong. So We must establish this bond between us and God.

 

 

3.The child will always come to the father or the mother to seek advice, to seek direction and to seek encouragement in times of confusion when things become hard and in times the child is trying to make a decision. Also, in times of trouble, we need God’s grace, guidance and wisdom.

 

 

4.The child always trusts his parents. Running to the parents in times of danger meant for them, a kind of protection. Also, Let us always seek Him in the time of trouble.

 

5.The child is always innocent. He does not hide anything and is willing to open himself and herself when you ask him a question. We have to be pure before God.

 

6.When the parents promise the child something good, the child believes that they must fulfil what they promised. He continues to trust in the promise until it comes to pass. They hardly lose hope in the promises of their father or mother. If not they will continue to remind them of their promises. Let us also have strong faith in God to save us in the time of trouble. Let us trust Him always even when life does not make sense.

 

7. When the child offends His parents, he always apologises. He knows deep down within that they will not kill him. He trusts in their hearts to forgive and let go. And many more. We are not perfect. When we make mistakes, let us seek His face.

 

So, today Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to anyone who can do the above when it comes to our relationship with God.

 

We have to show that we truly love God, we can do everything to defend our faith.

 

When we sin against God, we do not glory in sin and rejoice in it, rather we seek His merciful presence immediately. We have to trust in His merciful heart, then quit looking at God as someone wicked. 

 

Also, there should be a close bond between us and God.

In essence, we will always come to His presence both in good and in bad times.

 

Therefore, to be a child before God is to trust God deeply, have strong faith in His daily provision and power to save us, and seek inspiration and encouragement from Him.

 

When He promises us something, we shall not lose faith even in the midst of the worst etc.

 

Therefore, it is good to be a child before God and not a man. The man thinks he is above these, but the child remains humble and trusts his God. 

 

May God help us to remain close to Him. May Our trust in Him never go in vain. Amen.