Then were there brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them and pray, and the disciples rebuked them. Matthew 19:13
Only a couple of the students at the one-room school I attended as a child were left-handed, but the teacher was also left-handed. She used to tell us about when she was a little girl in school, and her teachers tried to turn her into a right-handed person. Their attempts frustrated her and caused her to have great difficulty in school for several years. Then along came a teacher who understood that left-handedness is normal for ten percent of the population, and liberated her from the attempts to change. Once she was allowed to function normally, our teacher said, she had no further problems in school. She reminded the southpaws among us that they could achieve as much as the right-handed pupils, and they had no need to change. She was like the parents who brought their children to the Lord Jesus.
Our text tells us that the children were brought to the Lord Jesus to be blessed. The parents were happy to have the Lord Jesus simply put His hands on the children, and pray for them. They were not asking that He give them Einstein brains or Sampson strength, or Solomon wisdom. They were not looking for the Lord to transform them from insufferable brats into angelic charmers, either. No, they knew that just bringing the children to the Saviour would take care of making any changes that the children needed. Bringing them to Jesus was the first and foremost goal, one that parents today need to keep in mind.
We have all experienced coming to know somebody who has made a great difference in our lives. Perhaps it was a Sunday School teacher, or a favourite uncle or aunt, or a friendly neighbour, who gave us words of encouragement and wisdom, who helped us to make some right decisions, who believed in us when others didn’t. Just knowing those special individuals made us a better person. If those earthly role models did us so much good, how much greater the influence of knowing the Lord Jesus? Those wise parents of long ago had their priorities straight in terms of their children’s relationship with the Lord Jesus. Wise parents of today do all they can, as well, to introduce their children to the Lord Jesus, and to allow that relationship with Him to shape and direct their children’s lives. No greater and better influence can children have than being in the presence of the One whose love for them is so great.
Our responsibility is to bring the children to the Lord Jesus. It will be our joy to see what He can do with them in their lives. -Jim MacIntosh