GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:16
He Blessed Them
As the story goes, a mother had two young boys, ages 8 and 10. They were mischievous, and the parents expected every neighbor who called to bring a complaint about something the boys had done. The mother went to her pastor, a large man with a booming voice, and explained her problem. The pastor agreed to speak to the boys, but wanted to talk to them one at a time. So the mother brought the 10-year-old boy first. The pastor took him into his office, sat him in a chair, and seated himself opposite him. The pastor asked the boy, “Where is God?” The boy stared at the pastor wide-eyed but said nothing. Again, the pastor raised his voice and asked, “Where is God?”
The boy bolted out of the office, past his mother, through the church door, toward home. When he reached his home, he ran up the stairs, opened the closet, and buried himself under a pile of clothes. His 8-year-old brother found him shivering in the closet and asked him what was the matter. “We’re in big trouble,” the 10-year-old said.
“Why?” the younger brother asked.
“God is missing, and they think we did it!”
In another family, the father came home to find his three sons engaged in a fierce fight. He asked the oldest, “Charles, who started this?” “Well,” Charles said, “it all started when William hit me back.”
Most parents agree with a Peanuts cartoon strip in which Lucy says to Snoopy, “There are times when you really bug me, but there are also times when I feel like giving you a hug.” Snoopy replied, “Well, that’s the way I am, huggable and buggable.”
After some Pharisees debated with Jesus about divorce and he taught his disciples about the essence of marriage, people brought their children to Jesus. The disciples tried to keep parents and children away from Jesus, likely intending to give him privacy and rest, but Jesus rebuked them and insisted that the children be allowed to come to him. After the skirmish with the Pharisees, the children’s open, trusting presence must have been a welcome change. “And taking them in his arms, he blessed them, placing his hands upon them.” (Mark 10:16)
Previous
Next
Directory