Little Lessons for Young Disciples

This holiday weekend I saw parents and children enjoying picnics and special trips to the park, the zoo; and, of course, to fireworks displays.  Christianity has something important to say about children.  We need to remind ourselves of that from time to time.

Mark 10:13-16

Drive down a nearby street and you’ll go past some apartments.  Outside the manager’s office is a sign in the shape of a large dog.  The sign says, “Fido friendly.”  The sign tells us that, unlike some apartments, these accept residents with animals.  That’s also a contrast with those which say, “No children.”  Some apartments are for “adults only,” meaning that the community allows activities which would best done out of the sight of children; sometimes those apartments advertise as havens for “seniors,” meaning that they see their apartments as havens from noisy little brats.

Those apartments have every right to determine exactly how they’ll structure their communities but the implicit attitude toward children is just a little disturbing.  That attitude suggests that children are just too much of a bother.

It’s an attitude that the disciples once shared.  But Jesus quickly showed them another way.  Apparently, his correction was effective.

From the beginning the attitude of Christianity toward children differed from that of most of the Roman world.

Paul, writing to the Colossians, told parents they were not to be harsh with their children and warned against the danger of discouraging them, what we might call breaking their spirits. 

That was quite a contrast with the prevailing view of Jews and Gentiles alike.

Jews, Greeks, and Romans all agreed that the liberal application of the “rod” was the best form of child rearing.  One Jewish writer during the Inter-testamental period said, “He who loves his son will whip him often….Bow down his neck in his youth, and beat his sides while he is young.”  In the non-Jewish world, fathers who were following the advice and example of the best-known educators beat their children as a matter of course.

One Roman writer tells of an occasion when he successfully and truthfully convinced his mother that he was not guilty of an offense for which she planned to punish him.  She announced that since the preparations had already been made, the beating would take place and he could carry it on his account for the next time he was in trouble.

Later on Christians were considered as outlaws and enemies of the empire because they dared to rescue infants who had been abandoned to die.  Many of these were girl babies who were considered less valuable than boys.  Of course, Christians also opposed the liberal use of abortion in the ancient world. 

Christians also were the first to build hospitals to help the poor sick, including children.  They established orphanages for to help the children of parents who had died of plague or in warfare.

In time, they would see the necessity of supporting public education for all children.  In the early nineteenth century British Evangelicals fought for and won passage of child labor laws.  These laws helped improve the general health of children and changed society forever.

The attitude of Christians toward children reflected the attitude of Christ.

As we review the gospels we see that some of Jesus’ most notable miracles were performed for the benefit of children.  On three occasions Jesus raised an individual from the dead;  two of those occasions involved children.  He released at least two children from the power of the demonic. 

Children were featured in some of his shorter parables.  Nothing in this text suggests that the children were at all hesitant about being near Jesus.  He loved them and they knew it.  Jesus seems to have valued being around children.  He would not have echoed our trite phrase, “Children are to be seen and not heard.”

The amazing thing is that we are having to constantly relearn the value of having children around us.  One specialist in aging says that “Children bring a special magic to residents” of nursing homes.   While some parents may complain that their children are sending them “to an early grave” the truth is regular association with children can keep us young and aware. 

The former editor of Decision magazine, Sherwood Wirt, tells of how this principle is working itself out in some churches.

“One of the most heartwarming experiences of life is becoming grandparents.  To make friends with little children, especially if they are one’s own progeny, is a free ticket to happiness.  Yet many Americans are finding distance a real obstacle to grandparenting.  Families move away, taking the children, and visits are few and far between.  In such cases many are becoming ‘adoptive grandparents’ to children in the neighborhood or the church family.  Children are quick to respond to such a relationship.  And the resulting outpouring of affection is a blessing to young and old alike.”

Our society is filled with many lonely children and being willing to be their friends is one way to help ease that loneliness.

It’s also a way to affirm the value of those youngsters.  That’s what Jesus did in this story.  He wasn’t going to allow anyone to discount their worth.  But this story also has some implicit lessons for all young disciples—for all disciples for that matter.

Let me quickly share them with you:

1.  There will always be those who try to keep you from getting close to Jesus. 

Sometimes those who would keep you from getting close to Jesus don’t want you to have what he has to offer.  They don’t want you to have the life he offers, the joy he offers, the forgiveness he offers.  They don’t want your life to change because that will be a reminder of how their lives need to be changed.

Sometimes, as it was in this story, it’s the people who should know better who, perhaps unintentionally, keep someone from getting closer to Jesus.  We may declare that someone with the wrong clothes or the wrong hair style cant’ get close to Jesus.  We may insist that someone with a tattoo or a piercing can’t get close to Jesus.  We may keep someone from getting close to Jesus by insisting on using language or music which just doesn’t communicate to them.  The sad thing in this story is the fact that the disciples probably thought they were doing the right thing.  In their minds Jesus’ work was too important to have it interrupted by children.  They meant well but were so wrong.

While you need to be aware of those trying to keep you from getting close to Jesus, you also need to be aware that Jesus wants to be close to you.  He’s more than up to the challenge.

2.     If you get close to Jesus, you’ll find it a place of blessing.

We don’t know all Jesus’ blessing entailed but isn’t it exciting to wonder what may have eventually happened to these children.  Did they eventually become believers?  Did they make a special contribution to the communities of faith, the churches, where they lived?  We don’t know but we do know that if you get close to Jesus he will bless you.
            That blessing will certainly include the gift of peace.  It may include a special gift to do his work where you are.  Whatever his blessing it will be evidence that he has touched your life.

3.  The third lesson for young disciples is, again, one for the older disciple as well:  No matter how much you learn or accomplish you never outgrow your need for trusting childlike faith.

Jesus is calling, not for childish, but childlike faith.  Just as a child accepts the parents’ gifts of food and clothing, knowing that they can’t provide these gifts of love for themselves, the disciple needs to continually accept God’s gifts of love, knowing that he or she can’t do enough to earn them.

Conclusion

 Jesus teaches us not only to value children but to learn from them and to learn with them.  After all, most of us have to admit that some of the lessons we continually have to learn are the same lessons our children are learning.  Only we use bigger words.