This Is My Story

Mark 10:13-16
And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them.
But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.

This is a passage that touches me deeply whenever I read it. I guess it's because of my own personal experience with Jesus Christ as a child that evokes such emotion in me and I am so thankful for the exposure that I received to the gospel at such a young age!

Before I get into that I have a couple of thoughts on what scripture says, especially the last line.

I often wonder, what would that would have been like to have been held in the arms of the God-man, the Messiah, the Creator of the universe, the Judge of all men, and the one who would willingly lay down His own life for your own sins that you have not even committed yet. Yes, I know, everyone present at that time did not fully grasp all that. Some things were understood and believed by some but not everything could be fully realized. Nevertheless, this circumstance was still a VERY BIG deal to the parents who brought the children to Jesus and I can't help but think how this would have positively impacted the future of these kids regardless of their ages. People of all kinds clamored to see, hear, talk to, and most of all TOUCH Jesus. Not a soul could deny that to touch or be touched by the Savior would forever change things as you know it. The attitude of the disciples reflected the way people thought back then-- Children should be seen, not heard. But, Christ was notorious for touching those whom no one else would.

One could say that that they were too little to understand but I would argue that point. In fact, I would die on that hill! How could ANYONE have the warm arms of Jesus around them and not feel pure love emanating from Him.... after all, God is love!


I think that it would be safe to assume that over the years this story would be retold over and over again by the parents with smiles on their faces. They would tell them of The Saviour who did these amazing things simply out of compassion for people who could not help themselves. He was tired and in demand, thronged by the multitudes who would not ask if they could do anything for Him. Yet, in the midst of His busy schedule He stopped everything that He was doing to hold them in His arms and bless them even though His own men were potentially blocking this from happening.
They would tell them of how this One died for them shortly thereafter to save them from their sin and then raise Himself up from the dead to give them hope.
These stories would build their faith and would be passed on for generations, more than likely.

I am fortunate to have grown up in the home that I did because despite everything that did not go right at least I heard the gospel at a very early age. My father was a preacher so I couldn't really get around hearing it nor would I have wanted to. It was never forced on me to believe on Christ but I couldn't understand why anybody wouldn't. I'm guessing that probably as early as the age of 4 I became very aware of sin and death and I knew somehow that I needed to make sure that I was going to Heaven when I died.
It took me until the age of 5 to work up the nerve to ask my father exactly how this was done. I was afraid of the attention that I would get at church for it (everyone scrutinizes the pastor's kids). I was afraid of what others would expect from me and how I would get treated. What if I didn't live up to every one's expectations?
Believe it or not, this goes through a child's mind!
I would soon find out that God expects far less of me than everyone else and understands my fears and anxieties.

On a Sunday morning in 1975 I walked in to my father's room where he was getting dressed. Every Sunday morning we would race to see who could get dressed the fastest so he was fully anticipating my challenge. He asked me if I wanted to race! I said "No, I want to get saved." I don't know if the look on his face was one of surprise or skepticism! Nevertheless, he took me by the hand and walked with me in to my room and we knelt down beside my bed as he opened up his Bible to show me what God's Word said.

I can't tell you verbatim what was said in that room that day but I do remember him distinctly turning to Romans 3:23 & 6:23 and reading aloud to help me understand that I was a sinner who desperately needed the help that only God could give me. I didn't have any problem understanding this because I got plenty of spankings from my mother to affirm that!
I remember that he showed me from John 3:16 & Romans 5:8 how much Jesus loves me and died for me to pay for my sin that I was hopeless to pay for myself.
I also remember him distinctly turning to Titus 1:2 to show me how God CANNOT LIE and therefore I can trust him. He reminded me that if I put my trust in Jesus to do for me what I cannot do for myself then I would be GUARANTEED eternal life (John 20:31 & I John 5:13)
I prayed that morning and told God that I believed His Word and I really needed his help. He knows that I put my trust in Him and He forgave me of my sin and gave me eternal life at that moment!
I never made any promises to Him as I would only break them anyway if I did! My salvation was based upon the promises that He made and my belief in Him to keep them! Many times I have disappointed Christ but He has always been faithful to me!

This is my story of how, at 5 yrs. old, Jesus held me in His arms and loved me and blessed me and I have been there ever since. This is the most cherished memory I have in my life because it changed everything for me forever! My earthly father took me to the only one who could love me more than him!

At times I have lost confidence in myself, my parents, siblings, my relatives, my marriage, my job, my boss, my friends, and even my church! At times they have all lost confidence in me. Jesus is my Rock and my Anchor and He has never let me down or anyone else that has put their trust in Him. He is the only sure thing that you will ever find in this world!

I am happy to say that I am completely dependent on God. I need Him and He speaks to me every day through His Word. If you need answers that is where you will find them!

I have told this story so many times that some people may get tired of hearing it but I love to tell it and will pass on down for generations to come. My prayer is that if you or your children have not encountered Jesus personally that this will help!!!!