Jesus offers us an unqualified, unbelievable trade: if you’re tired and burdened with life (or any part of life), come to me and I’ll take what’s heavy and give you my light load. Whether we forget this about him or simply find it too good to be true, we often need to be reminded that this is the persistent invitation he offers us. It is the Gospel for people who are sometimes or always bad at, tired of, or unsure about Christianity – and life.

Over time, particular cultures and eras of history view and treat children in very different ways. Rather than following the tide of our time, we have an opportunity to participate in God’s intention for children, both in our homes and in the community of God’s people. Jesus said the way we notice and welcome children is the way we welcome him. Perhaps to our surprise, kids are not a sideshow in God’s Kingdom. The Kingdom itself is theirs. The invitation for us, then, is to join them in God’s Kingdom.

We were created not only to be in an individual relationship with Jesus, but to know him in and through the Church. Even when we prioritize the Church, it is easy – and far too common – for our investment in the Church to become about many apparently good things that ultimately pull us away from why the Church exists: to be the place and people in whom Jesus lives and through whom he brings life and healing to the world.