Faith

It can be very easy to overlook the special faith that children have, and their close relationship with God. Children naturally believe – far more easily than adults do. It is this simple acceptance and startling knowledge of their place in the world that children have which Jesus is talking about in the Bible passage below. The Jewish leaders in the temple are upset by what Jesus has been teaching, and especially by the reaction of the children. Jesus gently reminds them of Old Testament Scripture which talks of the close relationship children have with God. It is from the mouths of the innocent of this world that the truth is spoken. The faith of a child needs to be nurtured and supported, but it also needs to be listened to and taken on board. Children have an incredibly important and special role to play in the Church today, just as they did when Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:15-16

¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the
children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry ¹⁶and said to
him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself’?”

(The New Revised Standard Version)

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Recommended books you may like to read:

Hermie: the common caterpillar by Max Lucado

So what's so bad about being a common caterpillar? Just ask Hermie--or his friend, Wormie--and they'll tell you. No splashy stripes. No stand-out spots. Not even a cool house like the snail or super-strength like the ant. Compared to the rest of God's beautiful creation, they just feel ordinary. Unimportant. A little out of place. But God sees past their plainness, and plans an incredible surprise to show them just how special they are.

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