And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Many people look at this verse and think it is only talking about treating children well. That’s not the whole story and it should go without saying that we need to treat children well. These verses are not talking about receiving little children in general, but receiving those who are like little children and who have believed and trusted in Christ. To welcome those who humbly respond in obedience to Christ with a childlike faith as new followers of Christ is like welcoming Christ Himself. Jesus brings symmetry to a new level when He makes these statements. He says in effect that new Christians represent Him. In today’s verses, we see our Lord’s reaction to those who cause “these little ones who believe in me to sin.” He does not look too favorably upon it, to say the least. Interestingly, we can sin in this way either through omission by failing to follow through on Truth commanded in Scripture or we can sin through commission by teaching and leading them into evil, or down destructive paths instead of paths of righteousness. Most of us fall into the first category through the constraint of the urgency of our day. We are so busy living our lives that we miss it. We neglect our God given responsibilities. It would do us well to remember that Jesus takes these opportunities presented to us very seriously. He does not look lightly upon our utter disregard of His commands…and neither should we.
Spiritual Steve 