Professor Brad Young explains that the Kingdom of God is about God s power and God s people. And the Kingdom of God is God s people doing what God wants them to do. In other words, the Kingdom of God is God s power at work in God s people. They receive it like they receive just about everything with wonder and uncomplicated faith. As adults, we can be so cynical and so hardened and so doubting.
Children receive the Kingdom of God with simple wonder and uncomplicated faith.
We are the means through which they receive it. That s why we baptize children. And that s why we ask godparents to join the parents at the font and make vows on behalf of the child and why we all stand and pray those baptismal prayers together. Children receive the Kingdom of God from us. And it is exactly at this point that the words of Jesus have bite.