IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Let the Little Children Come to Me

Date: Jul. 23, 2021

Passage

Matthew 19:1-15

Teaching About Divorce

19:1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: Matthew 19:14

but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus said, “What God has joined together, let no one separate.” Marriage is meant for unity but does not guarantee it. We learn how to be one in marriage. Marriage bonds should be nurtured rather than seeing disappointments as failure. However, Jesus did state that marriage is not necessarily for everyone.

Jesus welcomed little children. There was never anyone unworthy of Jesus’ love. Rather, he said “The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” We, too, are welcomed to take part in Jesus’ table to break bread together, find mercy and acceptance by God. God does not seek to push away, but to always embrace, and create bonds of belonging and unity. Marriage may not be for everyone, but there is always a need and way to belong to God.

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, thank you for welcoming me as you did even little children. Help me to embrace the love and belonging you embody with others.

One Word: One Word: Heaven belongs to such as these.

Daily Bread

We Are Your Sheep, Lord

Psalm 79:1-13

Key Verse: 79:13

But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

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