God's Kingdom Belongs to KidsSample

Day One: Joy in God’s Kingdom

Have you ever seen a five-year-old kid playing and having so much fun that you wanted to say, “They won’t tell you, but life never gets better than this”? Well, that kid is actually giving you a glimpse into what life in Jesus’ kingdom is like. Hidden in plain sight is one of the best invitations you will ever be given; to enter the kingdom of heaven.

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Sometimes words like this, because of their familiarity, lose their power; they become sentimental and weak. But when we receive these words of Jesus with their full force, they show us how God’s presence is experienced among his followers. Jesus is telling us that more than a distant and apathetic deity, more than a moral enforcer, he is gentle and humble in heart. His kingdom comes with joy. 

Those who receive Jesus discover that his words are more than impractical inspiration. They actually are a picture of what it is to walk in relationship with God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. History tells us that these are words of powerful potential for those who will live by them. 

In the first century in Rome, unwanted babies were tragically abandoned on the streets to die of exposure. This absolutely heartbreaking practice was prevalent throughout the Roman Empire. In response, the first Christian communities, living in the Roman Empire, chose to embody these words of Jesus. They began taking in abandoned children because a Jewish Rabbi came along and spoke words that rewrote a sense of worth for the most helpless people in the world: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

When Christians began following these words of Jesus, it led to a new practice throughout society. Instead of leaving infants on the streets to die, people began to leave them for Christians to find. All of the first orphanages in the Roman Empire were tied to a church or a monastery. Think about that for just a minute - in the face of a powerful empire set on infanticide, people began to live in a countercultural, life-giving way that changed society forever. How did these words of Jesus change people so powerfully? That is what we will explore over the next week as we look deeper into Jesus’ words of life.

Reflection: How do you welcome God into your life? Is your experience of welcoming Jesus into your life an experience of joyful expectation or irritated impatience? 

Prayer: “Lord, let me enter your presence with joy. Give me your power to welcome the most helpless around me.”