Jesus Blesses the Children: Make Room for the Kid No One's Making Room For

Hey, Carpool Crew. Pastor Justin here. I am so ready to kick off a new week with you. Here's the one thing for the ride I want you to remember. Make room for the kid no one is making room for. Listen to this from Mark chapter ten, verse fourteen. "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Okay, picture this. Jesus is in the middle of a packed day. People are everywhere. Hard questions are being asked. Big crowds are listening in. Important grown-up stuff is happening. Then some parents start bringing their kids over to meet Jesus. They want him to bless their kids. Sounds like great parents to me. They want Jesus to spend a moment with their kids, to pray for their kids. And the disciples start blocking the path. They're like, "No, no, no. Not now. Jesus is busy with the real stuff, adult stuff." Now, honestly, they probably thought they were helping, protecting Jesus' time so he could do the work of the ministry. He could teach and heal people. But here's the big moment. Jesus stops everything, and he's not happy with the disciples. He says, "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like them." Then he gathers the kids around him. He picks them up. He puts his hands on them, blesses them, prays for them. He doesn't rush them. He doesn't push them away. He doesn't say, "Wait until you're older." He makes room and time for them right now. See, if Jesus were sitting with you right now, he might tell you, "I always have time for you. You're never in my way. And I'm asking you to pass that on. Make time, make room for others the same way I make time and make room for you." Maybe you have a younger sibling who just wants to play with you all the time. It's easy to brush them off. It's easy to act like they're annoying. But Jesus makes time and room for others, and he is asking us to do the same. So what can you do this week? Well, first, start at lunchtime. Find one kid sitting alone and say, "Can I sit here?" Just one. Second, if you have a little brother or sister who wants to hang out, say yes the first time without rolling your eyes. Just a normal yes. It'll make their day. And third, on the playground or at recess, look for the kid not playing yet. Walk over and invite them to play with whatever you're doing. They will love it, and it'll mean a lot to them. Let's go back to that one thing I wanted you to remember. Make room for the kid no one's making room for. Remember, Carpool Crew, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if this podcast is helping your family, you can get even more Carpooling with Jesus. For less than the cost of a snack run at a gas station, you can get access to the weekend episodes, all of Goodnight Psalms, Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible, and our special bonus episodes. I hope you consider it. You can subscribe on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Now, before you go, let's answer this question together. Why was it important to Jesus to tell the disciples to let all the kids come to him and spend time with him? I'll see you next time on Carpooling with Jesus.