Jesus with Babies
Some of the people were bringing even their babies to Jesus, for him to touch them; but, when the disciples saw it, they began to find fault with those who had brought them. Jesus, however, called the little children to him.
“Let the little children come to me,” he said, “and do not hinder them; for it is to the childlike that the Kingdom of God belongs. I tell you, unless a man receives the Kingdom of God like a child, he will not enter it at all.”
—Luke.
What Jesus Teaches About Babies
It is Jesus’ teaching concerning the child which helps us to understand clearly His teaching concerning the family. He makes the child the center of gravity in His system of concrete values not less clearly than does modern social science. So great is the value of the child, He tells His disciples, that an offense to a child is among the worst of sins, while the slightest service, even the giving of a cup of cold water, is a religious act of the highest significance. He tells His disciples further that whoever receives a little child in His name receives Him, and that to children belongs the Kingdom of God.
If humanity is to progress, the whole of human society has to be so organized as to maximize the number of normal homes in which children can be properly cared for and given a fair start in life.
—C. A. Ellwood.