St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 13b, Rebuked by the disciples.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus blesses the children) Part 2.

The children were playing near, where Jesus was resting.  And he watched them play.  The parents and guardians wanted them to meet Jesus.  So they proceeded to bring them to him that he might lay hands and bless them.  The children did not know who he was.  They did not know that he was the chosen one, the Messiah.  They only knew that he was someone special, someone that their parents respected and honored.  So they played as all children do.

But the disciples did not want that he should be troubled.  They did not want to bother him because they knew that he had other things to consider, other things to think about, other serious problems to consider.  For Christ was a mystery.  He was their teacher.  He was their leader.  He was the miracle worker and they did not know what he would do or say next.  So they did not want the children to disturb him.  "But the disciples rebuked them."

The little children were rejected.  They were set aside.  They were of no concern that they should interfere with the master.  How often is this true today?  The children are sent outside.  They are sent to their rooms.  They should not be in the presence of honored guest.  They are silly.  They are immature.  They are childish.  And yet it is this feature that makes them so adorable, so loving, and so much like we ought to be.  For we have a father.  We have a guardian.  We have a protector who watches over us that we should not worry.  But we cannot be children.

We are adults.  We are mature.  We have responsibilities.  We are the protector, the provider, the caretakers of our families.  And we are the ones who must be watchful and not playful.  So we rebuke the children and those that are childlike.  We rebuke their innocence.  We rebuke the playfulness.  We rebuke the unselfish love that they exhibit.  For this is something that we cannot do, something that we cannot afford to have,  something that is beyond our reach.  And yet it is our example.

Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings peace.  Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings joy and happiness.  Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings love.  For with knowledge we are able to see ourselves as we are, not as we want to be.  With his knowledge we become children.  And as children we are able to recognize who is our Father.  Christ gave us life.  He gave us hope.  He gave us love.  He gave us peace.  It is only through him that one is able to know the eternal nature of his being.  And through his eternal spiritual nature our physical life looses all meaning.  It is only through this knowledge that spiritual life comes into focus and the desire to be with the one who completes all our desires, becomes our passion.  His love is all.  His love is complete.  His love is everlasting.  When will you come to know his love?  When will you become a child of God?

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 6, Punishment for leading the little ones to sin.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 2.   

Christ treasured the little ones.  They were newly born, fresh from the tree of life, given new life by God.  Theirs was the innocence.  Theirs was the beginning.  Theirs was the start of a life in eternity.  For they knew not life.  For they knew not existence.  They were conceived in the being of God who brought forth the tree of life that it may bring forth fruit.

Precious are the little ones.  Happy and joyous are their lives.  Full of questions and curiosity is their life.  Happy in the learning and the experience of all that life has to offer.  And Christ said to his disciples: "He who receives one such little one for my sake, receives me.  Yet there are those who do not receive them.  There are those who would corrupt them.  There are those who would use them for their own means, to serve their own purposes.  The little ones are the gems of heaven.  They are the newborn life of God.  They are the ones to be protected and guarded against the evil of the world.  And for this reason Christ told his disciples:   "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it were better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

How precious are the little ones.  Look into their eyes and see the light of life that comes through them.  Feel the joy and love that comes through their hearts as they experience the physical life that is theirs.  Through them we become alive and experience the newness of life.  Through their lives we are reborn.  For with them and through them we shape the future of their lives and provide the protection and have the opportunity to set them on a path that they may follow for the rest of their lives here on earth.  We are their foundation.  We are their light in the darkness.  We are their protection as God protects us.

Yet there are those who would destroy.  There are those who would corrupt.  There are those who would lead astray the new life sent to earth by God.  There are those who would turn these little ones away from their true nature and send them into darkness.  Beware, you who corrupt, you who destroy, you who tear down and turn the light to darkness.  Grave is your sin.  And great is your punishment.  Far greater will be your suffering in hell for the sin that you commit hear on earth.  Christ tells you that it would be far better for you to commit the sin of death than to face the sin of corruption of a little one.  For the sin of death is far less a punishment than the sin of corruption. 

Turn away from these acts of evil against the Lord your God.  Seek forgiveness and repent.  Open the door to the light of Christ who forgives the sins we commit.  God loves you.  He created you in his image and not in the image of darkness.  You are life and you are light.  See the goodness within you and know the truth of who you are in Christ.  He has provided the way and the path awaits you to follow.  Come!  Receive the light of the Holy Spirit and you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.