He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Devotion based on Mark 9:36,37

Nowadays, it seems like the kids control the family schedule: baseball practices, dance recitals, band rehearsals, science fairs, etc. I know that my wife and I are not alone in this. It seems that whenever I talk to my friends with children, they’re just as gassed and tired as we are from all the chasing and driving. How about you?

Why do we do all of this? Why are we willing to cart them around and sacrifice all that time and money? There is probably a whole slew of reasons that you could spout off, but I think it boils down to this: we love them! We want the best for our kids. We want them to be successful and have an enjoyable childhood.

Jesus loves children, too. There are a number of times in the Bible where he took time for them, held them, and blessed them. Why? Because children are important to him. Our children are important to him.

If God has blessed you with kids, you have an amazing responsibility. God has put you in charge of that child’s spiritual welfare. As important and pressing as practices and rehearsals might seem, there is something deeper and longer-lasting that God wants for your child—a life and an eternity with Jesus. God wants your child to know that he has a Savior from sin. God wants your child to know that nothing will separate him from the love of Jesus. God wants your child to know he is forgiven.

Our society spends so much time on children. Let’s make sure that the children are being cared for with something that will last into eternity—their Savior.

Prayer: