VOLUME 2024 | ISSUE 5 | JUNE - JULY
From Pastor John
Jesus called for them and said, “Let the children come to Me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs. - Luke 18:16 Jesus went against the grain of his 1st century culture by putting children first. Kids were to be seen and not heard. They were deemed “nonadults.” Dirty, noisy, stinky, and annoying. Of course Jesus didn’t want to be bothered by the likes of rambunctious, runny-nosed children! Yet Jesus surprises us once again by being so kid-friendly. He mentions this vital truth on other occasions saying, “If you want to enter the kingdom of God, you must receive it like a little child” and “you must change and become like children.” In Jesus’ hierarchy, the smallest are the greatest. Jesus says, “Come and follow Me…” not just to adults. He says, “let the children come to Me, don’t stop them.” The unmarried and childless Jesus absolutely loved kids. And if Jesus welcomed children… so should we. We talk about childproofing our homes, child-proofing medicine, and child-proof car windows, all for the safety of our children—it’s an act of love to look out for them. One of the things I love about St. Andrew’s is that we aren’t a “childproof church.” We care for our kids’ safety AND we want them to be very much part of our community of faith because they have so much teach us! Children teach us so many things: how to trust, how to forgive, and how to be innocent.
They remind us to be receptive, inquisitive, open, ever asking questions, and always learning and growing and changing. Children also model for us how to keep laughing and smiling, which help us get over our “serious problems.” I need and love kids around me because they protect me from becoming a grumpy old middle-aged man. Jesus picks up a child for His children’s sermon— it was “show and tell” time. Notice Jesus didn’t pick up an adult. Didn’t lift up a pastor or politician. Didn’t hold up for everyone a scholar or soldier, but a child. Children remind us that we’re children of God. We then realize more clearly that God loves to be in our presence--no matter how much trouble we’ve gotten ourselves into. God sees no one as a problem child, just a prodigal son or daughter that hasn’t come home just yet. And in these sacred moments we grow into, rather than out of our childhood. We become childlike, but not childish. So as VBS week fast approaches, we commence a sacred week. We have the awesome joy and privilege of loving and pouring into these young children that Jesus welcomes. We can learn from them and they can learn from us about Christ and the great Bible stories. Let’s pray for Heather and our amazing VBS Team and volunteers and our 120+ young lives to be touched in life-changing ways at VBS. What a great and joyous honor we have this upcoming VBS week!