God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

In our last post from the book of Acts we saw how much bigger God is than our problems, including Paul’s problem of the forty men who bound themselves by oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. If you’re interested you can read more here: “Bigger Than Your Problems–Acts 23:12-24”. In today’s post we’ll look at how God sees kids. And how He even gives children the privilege of serving Him in special ways.

Acts 23:12-22

When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Children on Assignment

In our text we see how God used Paul’s nephew as the primary agent to help Paul escape the wrath of the forty men who swore to kill Paul. God could have used anyone. He could have used a Roman soldier. Or he could have used a highly educated person. Or he could have used a statesman. Or he could have used a rich person. But no, God chose to use a child.

There are other places in the Bible where God gives children special assignments. God used the little boy with the loaves and fishes to feed thousands. God used Naaman’s servant girl to heal Naaman of leprosy. God used the boy king Josiah to bring God’s word back into the society of Israel. God used Moses’ older sister Miriam to save Moses’ life. Just to name four additional examples beside the one from our text. And this list isn’t by any means exhaustive. (John 6:1-14, 2 Kings 5:1-14, 2 Kings 22, Exodus 1:15-2:10)

God uses kids in special ways. Have you ever noticed that? Have you ever experienced that?

I know for me personally, Gabe was the first child to point me toward God. Gabe had an impact on me for Jesus, and his impact was massive. I can’t explain why exactly but somehow the moment Gabe was born I wanted to become a better man. Suddenly I knew I had to start pursuing Christ so I could become the best possible dad I could be, for Gabe. And I realized I didn’t know what love was before God brought Gabe into my life. Gabe was the first child God used to inspire me, and it was huge.

Gabe’s son, my grandson, Andrew has inspired me too. One time I was on my way to get my pickup tested at the local vehicle emissions station, and Andrew, who was three years old at the time, was in the back, in his car seat. Out of nowhere he started asking these deep philosophical questions:

“Where is God?” he asked.

“Is God in our hearts?”

“Is God in my heartbeat?”

I was amazed that such questions could come from a three year old! And I was inspired by those questions. (A Conversation About God with a 3 Year Old)

Another time Andrew inspired me when we were travelling. A large black man at the airport ticket counter was taking our luggage. Andrew, who was about five at the time, marched right up to him, looked up into his eyes, and said, “Do you believe in Jesus?”

And the man loading luggage laughed and said, “Yes, I do.”

One time my younger son Nate inspired me after he was baptized. I think he was a sixth grader at the time. It was summer. And the baptismal where he was baptized was outdoors, in an amphitheater. We were on our way to the car, walking in the sunshine past some beautiful large flowers that were just bursting with life. And Nate said, “Dad, after being baptized–I feel like those flowers.”

How God Loves Kids

A few weeks ago I was watching a black sports commentator share his opinion about a black athlete who was unnecessarily roughed up by a police officer. During this segment the sports commentator said this phrase: “The ease with which dehumanization kicks in . . .”

The ease with which we dehumanize has been a repeated mistake by us humans down through history. We’ve dehumanized African Americans, Native Americans, Chinese Americans, enemies conquered in battle, women, human beings with physical disabilities, human beings with intellectual disabilities. As I grow older I’m personally learning how people sometimes dehumanize others based on their stage of development, their stage of life.

And another category of humans we’ve dehumanized is kids.

But God doesn’t.

When children were bought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray, the disciples rebuked the people. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:13-14)

God loves kids! Perhaps because of their humility and innocence, He even has a special place in his heart for kids. One time the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

So what does Jesus do? He calls a child to him and puts this child in the midst of them and says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4)

And it would seem that children bear God’s image in some special way. After the verse cited above, Jesus goes on to say, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me . . .” (Matthew 18:5)

Also, as a father or mother has love for their child, God has a protective spirit toward children. Here’s the last thing Jesus says in this passage from Matthew: “. . . but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)

So while we have dehumanized children down through the ages, God holds them near to His heart, in a special way. And as we’ve discussed, He seems to give them choice special assignments too.

I share all this as a reminder. Life is hard. Many of us are busy. We need to work, and we have obligations. Our calendars are full. We face challenges. And we face distractions too. Our news feeds are more persuasive than ever. Entertainment is more seductive than it’s ever been.

So I just want to say, in the midst of it all,

Don’t forget the kids. Invest in your kids and your grandkids and the neighbor kids and kids on the margins.

God so desires us to receive them that He says, if we will receive them, we receive Him.

They’re precious in the sight of God and Christ.

Notes:

Steven A. & Shannon react to Tyreek Hill being detained, ESPN, September 13, 2024

First Take reacts to release of body cam footage of Tyreek Hill’s detainment, ESPN, September 13, 2024 (I included this video to be fair to Stephen A. Smith because he had more to say after the body cam footage was released.)

Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

• Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
• How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
• The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
• How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
• How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
• How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
• How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
• How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
• How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and the ebook is now available on Google Play Books.)