January 21 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Luke 18:10-17:

¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
¹²I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
¹³And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
¹⁵And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
¹⁶But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
¹⁷Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Devotional

They were bringing their infants to Jesus that He would touch them, that He would lay His hands on them and pray and bless them. But the disciples were rebuking them. Perhaps they thought that their Lord had more important things to do than to bless infants. Perhaps they thought that He should be shielded from the crowds who sought help from Him. But our Lord would not exclude the children and their parents from His presence. He would not send covenant infants away from Him. He loved the parents, who in faith brought their little ones to Him for a blessing. And He loved the covenant children and wished to bless them. So He called them unto Him and said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."

Believing parents today should rejoice in the love of the Saviour to them and in His interest in their little ones. When their children are ill they should pray that the great Physician and good Shepherd will grant healing to the Iambs of His church. In faith they should pray to Him concerning all the needs of their little ones and for grace that they themselves might faithfully perform their duties as parents. And always they should plead for spiritual blessing for their children, never ceasing to rejoice that the Saviour said, "Suffer little children to come unto me."

Welcome to "Think on These Things," a twelve-week daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)