When Jesus welcomed the little children into His presence, He was insisting on a paradigm shift in thinking related to the VIPs in the Kingdom of God.

One of the highlights of our year living in Uppsala, Sweden was being invited to participate in an event for the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden. The Swedes rolled out the red carpet for the Ambassador and treated him like a V.I.P.  A red carpet has been traditionally used to mark the path taken by kings, queens and other heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions though today virtually any two-bit celebrity can receive red carpet treatment. When Jesus welcomed the little children into His presence, He was insisting on a paradigm shift in thinking related to the VIPs in the Kingdom of God. He said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

Jesus owned the little ones as members of His church and they should be treated as insiders not as outsiders. The King is making sure that we know that little ones are admitted into His Kingdom with all the privileges. They are part of the visible church.
They are VIPs who are welcomed around the throne of grace and we should roll out the red carpet for them.

He doesn’t regard them as “little heathen” or “reprobate” who were living outside of the realm of salvation until by an act of their own they would “join the church.”  The Apostle Paul confirms this idea in 1 Cor. 7:14 that the children of believers are holy, they are Holy Seed. During his sermon at Pentecost, Peter likely recalled this memorable event when he said,  “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

As they grow older, parents should do everything in their power to bring their children to the point of voluntarily receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior so that they would say with their own heart and mouth, “ME TOO!”  But can you imagine the impact on the little ones who met Jesus, particularly as their parents would be able to tell them when they were grown, “When you were a baby, Jesus took you into his arms and blessed you!  Even then you were the object of his love!” Believers of any age can know this too, that He set His love and affection on YOU even before He spoke the creation into existence.