Suffer the Little Children

Scripture

“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”
 (Luke 18:16-17 KJV)

Suffer the Little Children

Tomorrow evening flocks of ghosts and goblins will approach our front door, under watchful parental eyes, holding out their bags yelling “trick or treat” – or as we used to say as kids “Shell out! Shell out!” I enjoy the laughter and the fun of “shelling out” mini-chocolate bars to happy and grateful kids, safely navigating our residential street. 

“Shelling” means something very different for children in our war-torn places – death, destruction, explosions, fear and blackness. Shelling means being orphaned, homeless, disabled and likely imbued with hate for the “other” that has been inherited from generations of conflict. 

On one of my walks recently I kept think about the old King James version of Jesus saying, ‘suffer the little children to come to me”. It’s an archaic phrase but as I walked, I repeated it with a comma after suffer and ached for the little children. I feel helpless in the face of the madness and pray the little ones will be preserved for lives of health and hope and perhaps in some generation forgiveness and reconciliation. 

I struggle to find Jesus in his homeland, yet he walks with the world’s suffering and hears the cries of the little ones.  

A Prayer for Today

Lord have mercy on us all who are responsible for damaging a child in any way. Let us be your children of light and forgiveness, hope and healing in a world that seems madly on a self-destructive path. Hear our cry for peace on earth …. For Jesus’ sake