Jesus Blesses Little Children: Home Ideas

With a little empathy, one can imagine the painful sting of rejection the young children felt as the disciples harshly turned them away from seeing Jesus.  In the next moment, they were overwhelmed with the sweetness of acceptance, as Jesus intervened, rebuking the disciples, and inviting the children to come to Him.

Quite likely, your child has experienced this sort of rejection when they are told that they are too young, or too little to do something, or go somewhere.  Or perhaps we ourselves, busy and distracted, miss something that our children or students are trying to communicate is important to them.  It is comforting for children to know that they are not too young or too little to come to Jesus.  He is never too busy to listen and respond to their prayers.  This week, assure your child of Jesus' love for them.  Just as the parents in this story, bring your child to Jesus.  As they identify with the children, pray that they come to know the pure joy and peace of a loving touch from Jesus.  Here are some ideas to help you do just that!

• Read the story of Jesus blessing the little children together in your child's Bible.  Talk about the love of Jesus for His children.  Pray together, and thank God for showing us in the Bible that Jesus loves them.

• Watch the story called "Let Them Come".

• Along with your child, form play dough figures of Jesus and the children, even the parents and disciples.  Encourage your child to retell the story in their own words, using the figures.

• 'J' is for Jesus!  Show your child how to form the letter 'J' with play dough.  Talk and about the sound of the letter 'J'.  

• As you are preparing snacks this week, think about including things you can serve that start with the letter 'J', such as juice, jelly, Jell-o, etc.  Ask your child to identify what they are eating that starts with the letter 'J'.