Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Kingdom of Heaven

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’” Matthew 19:14, NRSV

I thought about this Bible verse as I sat in church last Sunday with our youngest grandson on my lap. He’s two. He amazed his grandfather and me by sitting quietly for most of the service, except for a few loud whispers. I realized he had been listening to the sermon when our pastor said something about his own grandmother, and my grandson’s attention shifted promptly to the pulpit. His attention to the pastoral prayer, however, astounded us. He attends a preschool at his church as well as church services there regularly and has been taught to pray. When our pastor said, “Let’s pray,” he promptly stopped coloring, folded his small hands and bowed his head. We quickly realized he was repeating the last word of each phrase in the pastoral prayer, carefully praying along with the pastor. We may have a budding preacher in the family!

How blessed I am to be able to see my grandkids and to spend time with them. My prayer is that this grandson will always feel as loved and comfortable in church as he did last Sunday, and that church will be a refuge for him throughout his life. He is so innocent, and so full of love. I know the innocence will fade as he grows older, but I hope not too much. I hope the love will always remain, for where there is love, you will find the kingdom of heaven.

Grace and Peace,

Donna