Big Hearts
John was a man of small stature and was open about his discussions of having children with his 5foot9 wife
Reference: A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. (Luke 9:38 NIV)
Explore: I was recently chatting to a gentleman at work who had come in to do some contracting work for us.
Whilst I had never met him before he was very open about his life and very quickly we were talking about his children and his own childhood.
John was a man of small stature and when discussing having children with his 5foot9 wife they were concerned about conceiving a child who was also of small stature. John explained that it wasn’t about being teased or the challenges in adapting to the larger sized world, but it was all the operations they would have to endure at a young age.
I had no doubt John would have loved his children, no matter how they turned out, but they were concerned about the challenges they would have to face before they were even born.
Application: Parents are notorious for going out of their way to help their children. Huge sacrifices are made by parents so they can give their children the best life possible.
There are even a few of these occurrences recorded in the Bible. Parents would come to Jesus asking for help on behalf of their child.
And Jesus was rarely the first option. These parents had tried many things for their children before bringing them to Jesus.
Jesus was always compassionate to children and He also honoured the parent’s dedication to caring for their child. Too often we hear in the news of children being neglected, mistreated and abused.
Through His ministry Jesus left no doubt that children were special and to be cared for. Let’s continue on with Jesus’ heart as we help the children in our homes, our communities and the world.
Prayer: Lord, I want Your heart to be my heart. May I share Your love with those who need it most. Amen.
How can you show care to children today?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.