Handle with care

 ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)

Handle with care

Jesus had a more tender view of children than was common in his era. When others shooed them away he gathered them around himself to bless them.

They were not a nuisance or distraction but tender hearts eager to accept the blessing he was so willing to share. He wanted them to know how precious they are to God.

I suspect he found as much pleasure embracing and blessing them as do we. Seeing their smiles likely gave him as much joy as he gave them. It was also a welcome relief from arguments with those whose hearts were far less tender.

So he handled them with care, showing us what the heart of God is really like.

The little ones he mentions are not only children. They are the awkward and disadvantaged, the slow and socially inept. They are any who are too weak or unable to protect themselves from onslaughts of words and deeds that insult, injure, exclude or deny their dignity.

Every one of them has special place in the heart of God who sees the indignities and oppression they suffer, which might make us cringe when we remember our own insensitivity and apathy.

But guilt is not the point or God’s desire for us— life is, to be handled with the same extraordinary care God has for each of us.

Pr. David L. Miller