Thought of the Day !!

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

                                      Mark 10:13-14 (ESV)

What gets me about this passage is not the great lesson of how we should not hinder the children from coming to Jesus, but in fact become more like them in our faith.  What gets me is the fact that the disciples have been told by Jesus on two other occasions in this Gospel how important the children are and how they are to be cherished (my words).

It seems that no matter how many times Jesus tells these knot-headed disciples something, they just don't listen.  The same thing happens with Jesus teaching them about how he will die in Jerusalem on three different occasions.  They never hear that he will rise again even though he tells them plainly.  

Do these disciples have a hearing problem?  Do they only hear what they want to hear?  Do they get so caught up in other things that they don't even notice that Jesus is talking to them?

Of course as I say these things about the disciples, I could ask the same questions about us Christians today, and especially me.  Do we not understand God's ways in our lives because we simply don't listen?  Or have other things caused us to lose our focus on Jesus?  I know I can be guilty of these things at times.  How about you?

Let us all pay more attention to what the Bible really teaches us, and not what we want it to say.  May we all seek time in prayer today where there are no distractions that keep us from listening for God to have the opportunity to speak.  And finally, may our faith grow to be as strong as a child's so that we will not explain away what God might be calling us to be.

In the love of Christ,

greg