Suffer the little children to come unto me.
As a child I loved the story of Jesus calling the children to come to Him! I could picture myself there and I could feel the Savior’s love. Christ did not abide by the traditions that dictated that children were to be seen and not heard. He loved and valued each child individually as much as any adult He interacted with. It is an example to me of how I should value and treat the children in my life. They have so much to teach me and I have so much to learn.
Another perspective came to me as I reread this story in recent years. I started to think about how much our Heavenly Father loves us and how we are each His children.
I’m sure that as grown up as we may feel, He looks at us and sees our inexperience, our naivete, and how spiritually young we still are in our respective lives. And so, this invitation takes on another meaning. He wants each of us to come to Him. He doesn’t want anything to hold us back or make us feel inferior or unworthy. He knows that if we will become as little children, and seek Him as such, He can make our lives so much more than what we could ever do on our own. He wants our faith, our yearning, our humility to be like that of a child’s.
He wants us to not only recognize, but also to believe, how much He wants us. He wants us to understand how much more blessed our lives could be if we would allow Him to be a part of them. He wants to hold us and to help us, to teach us and to heal us. He wants us in all our weakness and unworthiness. He wants us. And this, not because we are good, but because He is. We are His. He wants us to come unto Him.
As President Nelson has recently taught, our only identifying label should be “Child of God.” That is our true Identity and no other truth is more important. We begin by believing this truth and then we can figure the rest of life out one step at a time. And luckily, we are not left to figure it out by ourselves. There are so many tools the Lord has given us to help us in our learning and progress.
One of the most powerful ways to come to Christ is to become as a little child, as He has instructed.
When I think about becoming like a little child, I think about the Lord restoring me to my spiritual core like I was as a child, helping me scrape away and sand off the rough edges that have been caked on by life until I have reached my potential.
Last year I made a list of attributes a child has that God wants me to choose as an adult:
Faith, hope, love of ALL – including self, humility, meekness, forgiveness, generosity, obedience, reverence, selfless sharing, inviting, inclusiveness, purity, abundance mindset, kindness, gentleness, willingness to listen and change, trust, curiosity, acceptance, love of learning, desire to worship, vulnerability, desire to help, acceptance of help, submissiveness, pure love of Christ, being consecrated, a booster of others, humble confidence, full of thanks, holy (devoted to God), chaste and virtuous, possessing unshakeable integrity, without guile or gossip, self-control (meekness), peacemaker, loyal, careful ponderer, thoughtful of others, lover of God, acknowledging God in all things.
What other childlike characteristics would you add to this list?
What I discovered is that becoming as a child is really becoming like Christ. And as we accept the invitation to come to Him, He can help us develop these attributes.
The Primary Manual for Come Follow Me is perfect for families with young children!
May week 2: May 8–14. Matthew 19–20; Mark 10; Luke 18: “What Lack I Yet?” (churchofjesuschrist.org)
Click on the images below to print out these FREE coloring pages from Rising Moon Adventures that I created to go with this lesson:
Primary Insights for Come Follow Me videos –
(46) Rising Moon Adventures Scripture Story Time – YouTube
Song 1: Compassion by Andrew Witt
Song 2: Come Unto Christ: Youth Theme 2014
