15 And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them.16 But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.17 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”Luke 18:15–17 (NASB95)

Having 11 grandchildren going on 12 qualifies me to offer this observation. Rarely will a baby or young child allow someone other than their parents to hold them. A grandmom will get first dibs in a relatively short period of time, but the granddad, it’ll take him a lot of cajoling to get them to lose their hair-trigger recoil.

That the children would readily receive or accept Jesus shows the nature of the pure connection between God and his people, and therefore the affinity we should have for the kingdom in which he resides. We should walk right in.

Certainly you don’t want to be the person who prohibits or even hinders anyone from entering. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of the rebuke in verse 16.