Yahushua’s Love for Children
By
Gary Primo
Feb. 1, 2020
The most precious thing (things) to any parent is their child (children). The average parent loves their child beyond all other things including themselves. And what “good” parent wouldn’t want the very best for their child that life has to offer?
Well, folks, Yahuwah is the best parent I know. His love for His creation is completely boundless. Even when we throw His love right back in His face, His love never changes or diminishes.
Sometimes, during the difficult years (teens, early adulthood) there may be times when we would love to terminate their miserable lives, but we persevere and eventually they come to their senses.
I sit and wonder sometimes, how Yahuwah can continue to love us so, when almost the entire earth not only disobeys Him but does not even believe He exists. A common human practice when a child rebels, is to disown them, which is basically what the scriptures tell us to do. Of course, when they return to us, repentant and wanting a fresh start, we are to welcome them back openly, like the scriptures also teach. But some relationships are simply not so cut and dry. Some are shattered forever.
As I often do, I like to compare our human relationships to our relationship with Yahuwah. I feel we can better understand a relationship we know little about to one we know a lot about. There really is not much of a difference.
The following site gives the NT verses that deal with the subject:
https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Children,-With-Jesus
Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
There is an old saying that “children should be seen and not heard”. I do not believe that Yahushua believed in this saying, but His disciples obviously did. What did He mean when he said “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”? They did not know the scriptures. They did not know the law. They had no knowledge of or even cared about the ways of Yahuwah. Why would Yahushua say we must become like them?
What I think He meant was, the Kingdom belongs to the humble and uncorrupted. Who is more humble and innocent than a child? If a person is unlearned in the law, does that mean they are incapable of sinning? Of course not! As they mature, they are expected to learn the law. Perhaps, there is much we can learn of our relationship with Yahuwah from observing the interaction of children with one another. If a child dies, they go to the grave in innocence and will become part of the Kingdom.
Nowhere are human emotions so openly expressed. Over time and after having our emotions trampled and perhaps ridiculed for so long, we tend to hide our emotions. But a child cannot control their emotions ant they are usually on display at all times for anyone to see.
With Yahuwah, He knows our thoughts and emotions before we do. He is the perfect parent. He needs no instruction in parenthood. He has been doing it for a very long time.
And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."
Mark adds to the subject saying that any who does not receive the Kingdom of Elohim like a child will not enter at all. I think we had better pay really close attention to this subject. Only those of a humble and contrite spirit will enter. I have known many who are anything but humble and contrite, yet firmly believe they have a seat at the big table. They may be the ones to whom Yahuwah says, “I never knew you”.
It is easy to assume that everything is rosy and we are confident of our standing with Yahuwah, but I feel we sometimes need to step back and get a better perspective of how Yahuwah views our relationship. It may just be quite the wake up call. Yet, we must not fear doing so, as it may be the only way of testing ourselves and seeing our true spiritual condition.
And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."
(A repeat of the previous).
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ”Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew adds that he who humbles himself as a child will be the greatest in the Kingdom. Who would not want to be the greatest in the Kingdom?
Truly, when converted and baptized we are reborn and become as little children again. Do you remember your own baptism and how you felt afterward? Did you feel like an empty vessel, waiting to be filled? That is what becoming a child again is like.
Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me."
Do we wish to receive Yahushua and the Father via the power of the set apart spirit? Of course we do, that is what conversion is all about, isn’t it? Well then, here is what we must do to achieve that state. It is not about how smart we are. It is not about how knowledgeable we are. It is not how others revere us. It is not about our position in whichever church we may be a part of. It is all about bringing ourselves down to the lowest common denominator – pure LOVE!
But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great."
The one who is least, is the one who is great. This thought is so contrary to normal human reasoning that it is difficult to fathom; but it is true. Perhaps the story of David and Goliath is a good example. All the men of war amongst the Israelites were afraid to fight the giant, Goliath. Then a young lad of a mere 12 years old steps forward to accept the giant’s challenge. He was offered weapons and armour, but would have none of it. His choice was a simple sling shot and a stone. Of course, the Philistine army got a god laugh at the sight of this Israelite boy facing off against their giant champion with only a sling. Yet, Yahuwah and the Israelite army got the last laugh when the rock found its mark and Goliath fell dead. Was David afraid? Most likely; however, his faith was stronger than his fear and that is what gained him the victory.
Over time life’s circumstances virtually dictate how we react to our emotional side. Some are cold as ice and some are completely open. I am afraid that I naturally fall somewhere in between the two and am continuously fighting to overcome it. Sometimes I win and other times I do not. But I always recover and get back on my feet. My greatest fear is that someday I will not be able to get back up. As we get older, our physical bodies weaken. However, our spiritual bodies should be gaining in strength.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
I used to know a woman who lived in town and worked in a local variety store. I went in with one of my daughters once who was about 3 years old at the time. I sat her on the counter while I fished for change and the woman said to me, “I hate children.” I said back, “That’s ok, they probably hate you back.” I mean, where do these people come from. The reason this woman hated children was because she was unable to have any.
Yes, Yahushua adds here that these children have angels in heaven that continually see the Father’s face and report to him any abuse committed against them or any abuse they commit. So be very, very careful not to cause them any form of injury.
"So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
By “perish”, I believe Yahushua was speaking about perishing spiritually. Perishing physically is a big deal to us because we are presently in a physical state; however, it is the spiritual perishing that we should be most in fear of.
Conclusion
Who wouldn’t want to be a child again? Every time I play with my grandchildren I become a child again and I love it. I truly have more fun with children than I do adults. I let them be themselves and they let me be myself. I just love the relationship we have.
We all have some part of us that we do not want commonly known. And as long as we have such, we cannot be completely honest. Being spiritually free, means that we have nothing to hide. All our secrets are brought out into the open and dealt with. This is the way a spiritually mature person acts. A spiritually immature person will attempt to hide their sin from everyone. The problem with that is that the sin never really goes away and is never really repented of. We want to rid ourselves OF ALL SIN. There should be none that we cherish so dearly that we do not want to let go of. If there is, we have a problem.
Children do not know guilt or shame naturally. Those are learned emotions. We learn them via repeatedly breaking the rules and being punished. When we break the spiritual rules, we are spiritually punished. And, sometimes that can be far worse than any physical punishment. And, of course, the worst spiritual punishment of all is not being accepted into the Kingdom.
The elderly physically become like children again. Their minds go, they end up in diapers again and they even need help feeding, drinking and taking general care of themselves. Becoming a child again spiritually focuses only on the emotional state. Instead of pride we feel humble. Instead of arrogance we feel weak and unimportant. However, the most important thing to feel is uncorrupted. We can overcome everything else.
I know we have likely all considered this subject, but, perhaps, we do not think about it enough, or do not take it seriously enough. Well, if it were not a serious subject, I don’t think Yahushua would have brought it up. And He minces no words as to the alternative; if we do not become as children we will not see the Kingdom, nor will we have any position of great importance in it. Therefore I feel that this is a topic that should not be swept under the carpet or ignored.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.