Receving Children, Receiving Jesus

Mark Fuller

Matt 19:1-2 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him…

(v. 13-16) Then little children (Gr.- infants) were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Jesus loves children. He rebuked the disciples when they tried to shoo them away. Btw, isn’t it strange that sometimes the greatest hindrance to Jesus can be those closest to Him?

Jesus continued:

Matt 18:3-4 "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus emphatically drives home His adoration for children:

Matt 18:6 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

That’s pretty graphic! If anyone offends (entraps, causes to fall) one of those children who are taught to believe (trust, accept as true) in Him it would be better if a large rock were tied to the offenders neck and that they were drowned in the deep sea!

I recently preached the funeral of a 1 month old girl. It wasn’t a huge shock that this precious child died, as the complications in her birth were many. Due to medical complications at the onset of the pregnancy, the parents were aware that the baby’s life was in danger and that there would be complications. Our church fervently prayed with this family from the time they began attending our church throughout the pregnancy until her last breath.

The father, Larry, informed me that some of the medical practitioners strongly suggested that little Faith’s life be terminated before birth. One arm stopped at the elbow. Both feet were clearly turned inward. Her heartbeat was irregular. She might be autistic. These were the facts that they received prior to the due date.

Sure enough, when I visited this precious family and their baby in the Neo-natal center of the local hospital, not only were all of these diagnosis accurate, but she also had complications with her eyes. As I held this precious bundle of life close to my chest and prayed to Jesus in faith, I knew God could heal her. He could make her perfectly whole!

Yet, on a blustery March day, I looked across the tiny casket at this family with a heavy heart. I wanted to choose my words carefully in bringing comfort to these that mourn their loss.

Suddenly these words leapt off the pages of the Bible:

Matthew 18:5 Whoever receives one little child (Greek: paidion - infant) like this in My name receives Me. 

Medical professionals advised that the life of this baby with beautiful long, dark hair be terminated three months into the pregnancy. Larry and Chrystal decided instead to “receive this one little child.” I believe that God honored the decision that Larry and Chrystal made to give birth to little Faith. In the modern age of medical advancement, people have positioned themselves in the place of Almighty God to decide who gets to live and who dies. Many would say, “This will be too great a burden for you to bring this child up in this world.” Today, in our fast paced society we don’t want to be inconvenienced. No one wants to have to carry a burden.

But Jesus said, Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 

I give God praise that this family chose to make that decision. My objective is not to place condemnation on others, but to honor the decision of this family. Time will only tell of the honor that will be bestowed upon them for allowing God to be both the giver and taker of life!

Larry also shared with me a very personal experience that took place through the short duration of the time of Little Faith. One Sunday morning I felt led to preach a sermon about Joseph: (Gen 41:45) And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah. There were several meanings of this name listed, but one I found in Fausset's Bible Dictionary said it meant "Savior of the world." Joseph’s name was changed to mean Savior in the Egyptian tongue. All of Joseph’s brothers were born in the family with the family name, but there was a famine coming and they were going to need a Savior!

During the preaching of this sermon, we had two families who were guests. They had small children with them and had obviously never trained these children to play quietly in church. One had a metal lunch box filled with cars. Throughout the sermon he shook the cars and laughed loudly. The other little tyke found several things to drag around the aisle making a real disruption (we are a new church at a storefront and since then my wife has volunteered to create a nursery!) not wishing to embarrass our guests, I blamed my bout with the cold (I could barely talk) and cut my sermon to about 10 minutes. It was humiliating – I apologized and dismissed everyone, personally apologizing to our guests.

Back in the hospital, standing with Little Faith, Larry tearfully shared with me how that this bombshell of a sermon that he heard prior to her birth had strengthened his resolve to commit to God. Faith, he determined, was his and Chrystal’s “Savior.” God had used her to cause them to make a decision to commit their lives to Jesus.

Larry and Chrystal chose a unique name for their baby girl: FAITH. No doubt many would question God or even question their judgment because the name they chose represents the fact that they sincerely believed God for this precious baby. We had all prayed and believed God for a miracle. Larry stood so strong when she was born with deformities even though it broke their hearts. We continued throughout her short life to believe God for a miracle. Yet, the miracle that we were believing God for never came. But now something even more miraculous has happened! I pointed out to the family, friends and relatives at that sad funeral two miraculous instances of faith.

1)    The most obvious is – We can appreciate the fact this precious baby is in the arms of our Loving Father in heaven. She will not have to endure a harsh world. No devil, demon or bad spirit will ever tempt her, attack her, or afflict her. She will never suffer from disease or illness. She’ll never have to deal with depression or frustration. She has a brand new, fully functional, fully developed body. “…of such is the kingdom of heaven!" 

2)    But there’s something even more remarkable. Three times in the New Testament we read these words: The just shall live by faith. This can help us define what faith really is – and what it isn’t: some think that faith is believing hard enough, strong enough and long enough for a miracle so that it happens. But this scripture helps us understand that faith is believing God in spite of the miracle. I “live by faith” in God whether or not he performs for me. I believe in God even when He doesn’t live up to my expectations. As found on the walls of a Nazi prison camp, “I believe in the sun when it doesn’t shine.” Larry, you and Chrystal are truly living by faith. The fact that they have made a decision to serve and trust God regardless is indicative of that fact! How appropriate that they chose this name for their baby! “I’m naming this child ‘Faith’ because I choose to believe God regardless! I’m going to name her Faith because we are living by faith in an all-knowing, all caring God!