Innocence

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Mark 10:13-16

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”  And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

English Standard Version (ESV) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.




Receive,
like a little child
with the unscarred
innocence
of love.

Let the children come,
He says.
He sets them before Him
and they listen
to His voice,
because it is
His voice.

Let the children come,
He says.
They are beautiful
because they are innocent.
They are lambs,
in their dependence,
not yet grown
to be sheep.

Let the children come,
He says.
He tells parables,
simpler
than those He has told us.
He tells them
of a tender God,
one’s whose purity
they understand.

Our world taints us
as we become more accepting of it.
We become doubters
or Pharisees
always longing for the innocence
of that first moment
when we saw Him.




copyright 2016 - Donald P James Jr 

 The Poem above is included in the Collection
'Pictures of the Messiah'
Available in Print and Kindle Editions



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