Throughout the gospel accounts, Jesus sharply contrasts the way the religious hypocrites approached him, and the way children did:
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”
Luke 10:21
Jesus clearly shows himself pleased with the way the “little ones” were rewarded for their unabashed faith, their openness in prayer, their delight in discovering His goodness. In fact, when Jesus said the verse above we are told He was “full of joy through the Holy Spirit”.
Meanwhile, He strongly chastised the self-righteous teachers of the law:
“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
Luke 11:52
Jesus, who described himself as the Good Shepherd, also encourages us with these words:
“Do not be afraid little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
Luke 12:32
Did you notice the term of endearment he uses? He calls us his little flock! And He tells us that our Father – not just His Father, but our Father too – has been pleased to give us the kingdom! That’s pretty astounding considering we are rightfully less significant than unicellular bacteria in comparison to Him!
Chris Marshall certainly didn’t offer Ty any kind of kingdom mysteries, but he certainly encouraged him to draw near. This was exactly what Ty needed at that time: the attention of a father figure. Chris being so very approachable was a huge encouragement to Ty that really brightened his day.
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