Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to the Children

Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

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1. Jesus was often tired from doing God’s work.

Many people always followed Him everywhere.

Jesus wanted to quietly rest where people were not around.

But many children came close to Jesus.

And Jesus’ disciples scolded them. “ Guys! Jesus is tired, go away!”

Jesus then told His disciples something else. “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them.”

2. He then said, “My children come.”

Jesus looked at the children and was happy.

The children relaxed by the gentle voice of Jesus.

And they moved closer to Jesus. “My loving children, you are always welcome to me.”

“Jesus, pray for us.”

“Yes, of course. I will pray for you.”

Jesus placed His hands on them and prayed for each and every one of them.

3. “Jesus, can you tell us a story?”

“What would you like to hear?”

“Is there really a heaven?”

“Yes, there is.” A big smile was on Jesus’ face.

And the children looked at Jesus with curiosity.

“Jesus, please tell us about heaven.  What’s heaven like?”

Jesus paused for a moment to decide what to tell them first.

4. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.”

“Is heaven that small, Jesus?”

“Think about how big a tree can grow from such a tiny little mustard seed.  It can grow bigger than other trees.”

“Oh! Jesus, we saw birds sitting in the mustard tree before!”

“That’s right. The birds can rest there.  Heaven begins from something very small just like the mustard seed. But later it can grow so big that people can rest peacefully there.”

“Jesus, we want to rest there too.”

“Hahaha!” Jesus laughed out loud.

5. “Heaven is also like the seller who found the pearl.  One day, the seller found the most beautiful pearl that he had always wanted.  What would you guys have done if you found that pearl?”

“Buy it before anyone else does!”

“That’s right.  So the seller brought all the money he had and bought the pearl.  How do you think the seller felt at that time?”

“So happy that he wanted to fly!”

“Exactly, the happiness we get from receiving heaven feels just like that.”

6.“Heaven is also like treasure hidden in a field.  There was a man who found the treasure hidden in a field.”

“He should quickly buy that field too!” the children shouted.

“Right, he too brought all the money he had and bought the field.  Heaven is precious, just like the pearl and the treasure it is to a point they would give up everything they have.”

“But Jesus, we don’t have the money to buy heaven.”

“You cannot go to heaven by buying it with money.”

“Then with what can we buy heaven?”

“Just give your pure and child-like heart to God.”

The children liked the fact that heaven did not cost them any money.

7. Jesus continued to tell the children more stories about heaven.

“Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown in the lake.  When the fishermen pulled up the net, they picked out the good fish from the bad fish.”

“Did they throw away the bad fish?’

“Yes, they did.  And In the last day, the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous. The wicked people will be thrown into the lake of fire.  They will weep and regret it, but it will be too late.”

“Then what about us, what will happen to us?” the children wondered.

“People who obey God will go to heaven.”

“How do we obey God?”

“To believe in me whom God sent.”

“Yay! We do believe in you, so we’re okay! Hee hee.”

“Yes! Great!  Heaven is yours then.”  Jesus and the children were happy together.

8. “But Jesus, who will be the leader in heaven?”

“Heaven’s rules and earth’s rules are different.  You cannot become the leader because you believe in God first, and it’s not by how strong you are either.  Heaven is for a person who humbles himself, like the little children, who will then become the leader.”

The children felt proud they, too, could become the leader in heaven.

“But Jesus, many times adults look down on us.”

“Yes, I know.  God doesn’t want even one child to be looked down on.  And in my name, if they love a child, they are loving me.  And if anyone hinders a child, he will forever be punished.” 

“Wow, does God really care for children like us that much?”

“Oh yes, He really does.”

9. Jesus told another story.

“A shepherd had 100 sheep. But one day a lamb was lost. What would you do if you were the shepherd?”

“We will go and find the lost one.”

“That’s right. The shepherd went out on the road to look for the lost lamb.  Finally at night, he found it.  How do you think the shepherd felt?”

“He must have felt soooooo happy.”

“And that is how God thinks of you.  He never wants to lose any of you.”

Jesus hugged the children close to his heart.

10. Upon hearing Jesus tell stories, they did not know that time was passing.

The sun went down and it was almost evening.

Jesus and the children were hungry. “You guys must be very hungry. Does anyone have any food?”

“Yes Jesus, my mom packed me a lunch box.” One of the kids shyly took out his lunch box.

“Thank you.  I see you brought two fish and five loaves of bread. Let’s pray and give thanks to God.”

11. Jesus gave a prayer of thanks to God.

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “Pass them out to the children. And do not throw away any leftovers.”

The disciples passed around fish and bread to the children.

Then, all the children became full and there were still a lot of leftovers.

“Jesus, it’s like magic. You really are God’s son!” The amazed children gave Jesus their confession.

Jesus then said, “Even if only little, it was you who first brought the food and shared.  God took notice of your kind heart.”

12. Jesus then turned to the disciples who tried to stop the children.

“You too must become like these children or you will not surely enter into heaven.”

Jesus’ disciples were embarrassed, scratching their heads.

Then seeing the disciple’s silly actions, the children giggled, laughing out loud.