Title Like a Child / 2004.5.2
Content 걋?br />
Mark 10:13-16, 2 Samuel 6:20-23
Today is Children's Day. The tradition of Children's Sunday originated in the American church. The tradition of churches to observe Children's Sunday officially began with the decision of the second Sunday in June as Children's Sunday at the annual conference of the American Methodist Church in 1868. . In 1923, Korea observed Children's Day every year at the insistence of the late teacher Bang Jeong-hwan, but it was interrupted due to Japanese oppression. The Church established the first Sunday in May 1957 as Children's Sunday and has been keeping it ever since.
Children's Sunday is observed for three reasons. First, it is because Jesus held him and prayed a blessing, telling him not to forbid children from coming to me. Second, because raising young children in faith is the most important thing. Third, it is because of our faith to follow the word of the Lord to become like little children.
In today's verse, it is said that people brought little children because they wanted Jesus to touch them. This must have been an act of faith that children's mothers wanted to bless their children. However, the disciples did not like to bring children with them because they were bothered by the chattering and noisy children. That is why he rebuked those who brought children. However, Jesus was 'indignant' at the actions of his disciples, and instead rebuked them.
Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them
The kingdom of God belongs to such.
Truly I say to you
Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child
I will never be able to get in. Mark 10:14-15
Why did Jesus value children so much? Because the hearts of young children are pure and pure.
Young children express their curiosity and interest in anything. The most frequently asked question by young children is 'What is this?' In the eyes of a child, everything in the world is a wonder. When the wonder and curiosity of the world disappears, you are already old. If life becomes boring and all looks the same in this and that way, you have already lost the pure soul of a child.
Because young children have such a pure and pure soul, it is equally important to put faith in their souls.
A Walbert Chapman survey of 3,000 Christians found that 400 accepted Jesus before the age of 10, 600 were between the ages of 10-14, 1,000 accepted Jesus between the ages of 16 and 20, and only 24 believed after the age of 36. is to have Intrigued, Dr. Chapman investigated more extensively, and obtained the following statistics: After the age of 25, only one in 1,000 people accepted Jesus, after the age of 45, only one in 200,000 people, and after the age of 75, only one in 700,000 people accepted Jesus.
So we come to realize how important it is for us to teach our children the faith. These days, we are conducting an evangelism school in our region. We are also actively participating in our church. Warm up your heart with the Word and go out right away to practice evangelism. But try to evangelize adults. How hard is it? I couldn't do it myself, but there are things I realize while doing this evangelism school. How difficult it is to be a mature believer! How precious is one devoted believer! is to do While attending the evangelism school, the members have an experience that seems more precious. There is no need to evangelize only adults. Even without looking at Dr. Chapman's statistics earlier, it is not easy for adults to actually be evangelized. In almost 80% of cases where adults are evangelized, people who went to church when they were young come back to the church. We need to evangelize children. Children have clear souls. Depending on what kind of picture you draw, your life will change.
A child's heart is pure. That is why the one word you hear as a child becomes the word that determines your whole life. That is why we need to evangelize and teach young children more diligently.
Jesus, who valued children in this way, changed his words and told us, adults, to become like children. That is the meaning of the words, 'He who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' How can we become adults? It must be said to have a child-like heart. What would be a child's soul?
1. Humility
The hallmark of a child is weakness and inadequacy. Therefore, you will always receive love and constant support from your parents. How should we live? 걋? It is to prostrate yourself like a child before God, confessing your prostrate. Why was Saul loved and rejected by God? He was arrogant and forsaken. Pride raises its head when, like a child, acknowledges one's own shortcomings and does not bow down. Experience raises the head, knowledge raises the head, experience raises the head. It is being hardened with the heart of an adult.
In the words of 2 Samuel 6:20-23, when David brought the ark to Jerusalem, he rejoiced and danced in front of the ark to remove his clothes. At that time, his wife Michal, who looked down at the tooth from the royal palace, later rebuked it for ignorance. David said, “This is what I have done before God. He said that I would make myself less humble than this, even though I appear lowly.
David's faith is like a child. To have faith that pleases God by being humbled before God with a heart like a child, that is to uphold the kingdom of God like a child.
2. Heart of Purity
All the little ones are cute and pretty. You don't even know how pretty the sprouts of young lettuce are. Why are children so cute and pretty? Because there was no time. Because it is pure. A child's heart refers to such an unspoiled initial mind. It's the first thing you say. The heart when we first started, the heart when we first met.
3. A mother's heart
Young children crave milk. 1 Peter 2:1 says, 'Desire for the pure, spiritual milk'. Our members should long for the Word, the church, grace, the Holy Spirit, prayer, and worship throughout their lives. I believe that God's blessings will be with the members who are determined to live their whole lives with the heart of a child.
If you look closely at the words of the text, he said that the kingdom of God is 'they belong to such people'. These words of growing up are referring to little children who are eager to come to the Lord and touch them. A heart that desires to come closer to the Lord, a heart that desires the Lord's touch--it is a longing heart.
Faith is a longing heart. When we have a heart that longs for grace, longs for the Word, and longs for love, it becomes faith that receives God's blessing. A cold heart, a cold heart that seems to do it well or not, cannot receive God's grace. The heart of a child who came to the Lord hoping to be touched is the faith that possesses the kingdom of God.
On Children's Sunday today, I hope that you will become saints who respect children by following the heart of the Lord who regarded them as the masters of God's kingdom. I hope that the more they are respected, the more they become parents who nurture them with faith and the word. And I pray in the name of the Lord that all of you will become saints who glorify God with childlike faith in God's presence while recalling the words that you cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you are like little children.
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