September 25. Forbid Them Not

"Jesus said: Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The love of Christ for children, was one of the most beautiful qualities in His life. It revealed His true human-heartedness. But we must remember too, that it revealed His divine interest in the children. Jesus was much displeased when His disciples rebuked those who brought the little ones, and would keep the children away. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them," He said. So we have the caution for ourselves. We must be very careful that we never keep any children from coming to Christ. We may do this in many ways. We may do this, if we are parents or older Christians — by our own worldly example. Undevout parents are likely to keep their children away from the Savior, even unintentionally, by the influence of their own life. We may do it also by telling them they are too young to come to Him; by simply doing nothing, allowing them to grow up uninfluenced toward the right; by allowing their minds to become pre-occupied with other things, to the exclusion of Christ. Christ stands yet and calls upon us to clear every hindrance out of the way, that the children may come to Him, and besides to do all we can to bring them to Him. It must be noticed that it is to Christ Himself, that the children are to come. Suppose they cannot fully understand "the plan of redemption," or fully know the doctrines of the Church, or cannot answer the hard questions we sometimes put to inquirers; shall we therefore keep them back? No; Christ says, "Let them come to me." We are only to be sure we do not hinder them, and that we let them come to Him. After that, there will be time enough to teach them more fully.