I have wonderful memories of my Grandpa. He wasn’t perfect, but he was very precious to me. I liked his character a lot. Although he was apparently quite prone to temper as a younger man, he mellowed in old age. He was in his eighties when I was born. He was friendly, fun and wonderfully Irish!

He used to let me climb up on a stool behind him and pretend to cut his hair. He was totally bald on top, but had dark hair under his ears and round the back of his head. He uses to like me combing it and asking him daft questions, pretending to be a hairdresser.

He would giggle in his twinkling Irish way and through his beautiful Dublin accent say ‘Hush child!” whenever I got too noisy. Grandpa always had time for children and he would bend down to welcome them and hug them.

‘I love Jesus’ words in Mark 10:14. It feels as though I have always known them and stood by them. “Let the little children come to Me…”
To put them in context, here is part of the story Mark shares:

‘They brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me.”…And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them’ (vv. 13-16 NKJV).

What a picture of favour and blessing this is! I love it!
As a child we were annual visitors at a Beach Mission in the Isle of Man. In the headquarters of the Team, a wonderful place of whispered grace and shouted praise, Dublin House, there was a huge painting of this scene. In it, Jesus was depicted inundated with children of every size and colour and every background. I remember gazing at it during Bible studies and thinking how wonderful my Jesus was!

Jesus was never too busy for a child. Lots of grown-ups are, especially ones who have sermons to preach and sick people to heal. They can forget the little people.

I have heard it stated that by the time a child is five they’ve learned 75 per cent of everything they’ll know in life. And by the time they’re 18 their mind is set like a mould. I don’t believe this wholeheartedly, because it denies that God can change anyone and anything!

But I do know that how children are treated has huge impact on who they become as adults. Whenever I pray with someone, I regularly find God leading me to ask questions about their childhood, parents and schooling. Often there are clues here as to why people behave the way they do and why they believe certain things about themselves. Whenever people pray for me about deep things, the questions inevitably delve into childhood too.

Even if we don’t have any children of our own, we can influence the children around us and show them how important they are. We can endeavour to be a role model to every child who crosses our path. We can literally and spiritually lift them as Jesus did!

Jesus also admired children for their capacity to trust. We adults know so much, but believe so little don’t we? We can be so cynical and untrusting! We so complicate faith. We filter it through our intellect or our life’s experiences. We rationalise our faith away by saying things like, ‘Yes, I know God promised that, BUT…’

Hear these words again that Jesus said, ‘Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it’ (v. 15 NKJV). Jesus loved and encouraged children. ‘He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.’

Whenever Jesus takes me in His arms I never forget it! I am sure those children felt the same. Imagine looking back to a moment in your life when the Lord picked you up, held you in His arms, laid His hands on you and blessed you. What a wonderful sense of mercy and grace this gives! In this busy world, if you’re serious about becoming more like Jesus, I honestly believe you must learn to love children. And go out of your way to show it.