Our Daily Bread Sunday 16 August 2020 Devotional
Topic: Big Enough
Today’s Scripture:Luke 18:15–17(NIV)
Bible in a Year: Psalms 94–96, Romans 15:14–33
Key Verse: Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.- Luke 18:16
Today’s Insight: Today’s passage is yet another instance when Jesus turns the perceptions and ideas of His disciples upside down. The disciples regarded the children as unimportant and not worthy of their master’s attention. Jesus corrected them with the exact opposite truth—these children exemplify what the kingdom is about. He tells His disciples not only that they’re important, but that the disciples must become like them in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. This isn’t the only time Jesus used a child to correct His disciples. In Matthew 18:1–5 He says they must become like a child to be a part of God’s kingdom.
Our Daily Bread Sunday 16 August 2020 Devotional Message
My grandson ran to the roller coaster line and stood with his back against the height-requirement sign to see if he was big enough to ride. He squealed with joy when his head exceeded the mark.
So much of life is about being “big” enough, isn’t it? To move from car seat to seatbelt and from the back seat to the front. To take a driver’s test. To vote. To get married. Like my grandson, we can spend our lives longing to grow up.
In New Testament times, children were loved but not highly valued in society until they “became of age” and could contribute to the home and enter the synagogue with adult privileges. Jesus shattered the standards of His day by welcoming the impoverished, the diseased, and even children. Three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) tell of parents bringing little children to Jesus so that He might lay hands on them and pray for them (Matthew 19:13; Mark 10:16).
READ ALSO: Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional 16 August 2020 – Truth vs. Feelings
The disciples rebuked the adults for what they saw as an inconvenience. At this, Jesus was “indignant” (Mark 10:14) and opened His arms to the little ones. He elevated their value in His kingdom and challenged all to become like children themselves—to embrace their vulnerability and need for Him in order to know Him (Luke 18:17). It’s our childlike need that makes us “big” enough to receive His love.
Reflect: How might you need to remain small in order to know God? What does His love, the love of a heavenly Father, mean to you?
Prayer: Dear God, help me embrace my need for You today that You might draw me closer, like a child, to Your heart.
To learn more about Jesus and His life, visit christianuniversity.org/courses/life-of-christ/.