Of all the people of the first century Mediterranean world, from Praetorian guards to peasant farmers, the children were the most helpless. This is the main reason why Jesus uses his child as an exemplary disciple.
There is no doubt that childhood 2,000 years ago was very different from today's childhood. (In fact, even the concept of childhood is different social and cultural developments all over the world.) Nevertheless, in all of our modern developments, one aspect of childhood has been true over the years. and it's a vulnerability.
Children are very vulnerable because they are weak, poor and vulnerable. This is one of the main reasons why children still hold the lowest circle of social ladders, even in the 21st century.
Of course, all humans are vulnerable. Fatigue, beaten, covered in broken flesh bodies, sometimes beyond repair, humans are extremely vulnerable compared to other creatures. But it's not just our bodies. Our hearts, hearts and souls are delicate and can withstand many things, but they are irreparably changed by the forced us to endure. In fact, humans are constantly needed. It requires protection from food, water, elements, sleep, physical touch, intimacy with others, and more.
After my oldest child was born, I bought a small sign in his room in a moment of sleep deprivation humor. In the curling blue script on a white ceramic background, it was pronounced “the bottomless hole of needs and desires.” I hung it on his crib and smiled horribly about it every day, but that's a sign that we can all hang on our bed.
Toddlers are not just poor and wanting. Whether we like it or not, humans are born with a needy nature, live our lives troubled, and die in trouble. It's who we are.
Anyone who takes the path of a child is the largest in the kingdom.
At the same time, few people are naturally vulnerable like children. Their needs vary depending on their age and physical, neurological, or psychological composition. While most people grow independently over time, children often rely on what is now called emerging adults on their families and other institutions. If children find victims of neglect, abuse, or exploitation in one or more of such settings, the outcome can be disastrous.
This is even more so if you realize they live in a dangerous place. A war-torn country, tsunami-stricken area, or school targeting mass shootings.
While the treatment of children has generally improved over the centuries, its natural dependence means there is an inevitable imbalance of force between children and adults.
I have a friend who had a toddler's son trying to run out of his front door when he was taking a bath. Marachi chuckled naked naked, giggling, as she went down the hall with her tiny feet and roughly pulled the doorknob. Once or twice, when the door was not bolted, he was able to open it just before my friend caught him. Each time, she scoops him laughing and takes him to the bathtub waiting for him. Through his cry of joy, she replied, “Where do you think you're going? What exactly is your plan?” Malaki said, the absurdity of what he tried to escape, and he made it a door. If he had come out of it, he didn't realize that he might be blissful.
Compared to adults, children are very vulnerable. Especially on private property.
He is troubled by the image of Aleppo five-year-old Omran Daknesh, captured by photographer Mahmoud Raslan in 2016 after Russian airstrikes destroyed his home during the Syrian civil war. (The photo was ubiquitous online in 2016, but can be seen in one location
here. ) The frame is slightly, and Omran sits in the bright orange ambulance seat, wearing a surprising, empty look. His hands are forgotten in his thighs. He appears to be completely separated from his body, which is covered from head to toe with dark gray ash. His big black eyes are almost swollen and closed, staring vaguely at the universe. A deep red smear of blood runs through the length of his face, one ear torn apart. His long dark hair is a must-have for his parents to be playfully fussed, but confused and covered in grey powder from concrete pieces.
Omran's house was destroyed and his life was bursting with wars committed by adults. Adults created political and socioeconomic conditions that led to violent conflict. Adults designed, manufactured, distributed and deployed weapons that would allow war. Adults were recruited, signed up, served as soldiers to fight and perpetuate the war, while adults launched missiles that wiped out Omran's neighbours. He has his personality and his story, and I can't tell him that, but he's thinking of him now. Because he clearly shows the vulnerability of children whose lives are almost entirely determined by the decisions of people who are almost entirely larger, stronger and stronger. Omran is one of 2.3 billion children worldwide.
I think Jesus understood the vulnerability of children and the many ways many families and organizations could make them fail. It would be better if they stumble, and they would hang a large millstone around their necks and own it deep in the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
But there's more.
It's not just that Jesus knows about child vulnerability. Jesus identifies their vulnerabilities in a personal, sacramental way. “And anyone who welcomes such a child in my name will welcome me” (Matthew 18:5). When you receive a vulnerable, marginalized, politically powerful child, he says you will receive me too.
The only other place where Jesus speaks this way is in the parable of final judgment, saying that those who serve “these minimums” are actually serving him (Matthew 25:31‑46 ).
God's eternal son passed on to himself the helplessness, ignorance and vulnerability of his children. Our actions with children – How we think about them, talk about them, and work with them is not only known by Jesus' teachings, but also by his own life as a child. It must. By uniting divinity to humanity in the man of Jesus Christ, God was blessed by childhood, childhood, adolescence and adults.
At the very least, Jesus helps children see that they have their agents and purpose before God.
One of the challenges is that there is a serious disparity in power between children and adults, especially in individual homes. Child vulnerability seeks protection for adults, but it is not possible for everyone to pay attention to or listen to the call. And when families are severely stressed, under resources or isolated, they can become malignant places.
Yet, in the midst of confusion and confusion, struggle and hypocrisy, Jesus comes to us, becoming His confused and arguing disciples, and He comes to us with his children. He places the child in our midst and offers us an invitation. Unless you change and become like a child, you will not enter the kingdom.
Anyone who walks the path of a child is the greatest in the kingdom, and those who welcome such a child in the name of Jesus will welcome Jesus himself. In fact, as Mark's Gospels say, “The kingdom of God belongs to these things” (Mark 10:14).
It adapted fromHouse of faith“By Emily Hunter McGowin. ©2025 Emily Hunter McGowin. Used with permission from Intervarsity Press.
