Matthew 19:14 English Standard Version (ESV) but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Speaking to the issues of human nature yesterday and resenting being called a baby, allow the next issue of human nature be seen in how some of us that have been walking with our Lord for a long time might forget how it feels to be that new born.

Newborns have no reference point in this new kingdom where they have been reborn except those that appear before them. Just as a newborn opens his eyes for the first time and looks up at the face of the mother and father that holds them, those first impressions and experiences are created by the parents. We would do well to remember that those who have just been reborn will look to us as their first glimpse into kingdom living.

Jesus tells us not to hinder them. Hinder them might be defined here as bad first impressions. Jesus loves them without judgment or expectation. We should do the same. Some will want to begin the maturing process which is the work of the Holy Spirit. It might happen that way because we have forgotten what it feels like to be a new reborn.

It is our human nature that places more importance on current events and experiences and puts aside old memories that no longer serve us well. The newborn’s memories for the moment only contain memories of a past life. They have not yet developed spiritual eyes and ears. They have them, but just as any newborn, they need to be developed.

The title today says kid gloves, it is an expression which means be gentle and handle with care. First impressions in rebirth matter even more than natural birth because the world has already told them lies about what it takes to live a new life.

Matthew 15:17 English Standard Version (ESV) Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?

It is easy to overlook this passage in context with Jesus’s words about defilement. A rather harsh list of human natures is list in verse 19. We might note that there is more to human nature than just those things that are listed. Many of those human natures do not lead to defilement but are troublesome in their own right.

We have been speaking about our change, leaving the world behind and entering into the kingdom of God. That is a thing to be well considered but our bodies still live in the world and human nature, being what it is, still has to be considered.

John 3:4 English Standard Version (ESV) Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

To answer Nicodemus we must admit we do not get a new body when we are born again. Becoming a new creation in Christ is a matter of adding the Holy Spirit to the body we already have. Having the Holy Spirit abiding in us changes us in ways we will discover as we begin to live out this newness of life.

We begin our spiritual life as babes in Christ and our human nature resents being called a baby.

1 Corinthians 3:1 King James Version (KJV) And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

Hebrews 5:13 King James Version (KJV) For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

1 Peter 2:2 King James Version (KJV) As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

It is our human nature that resists the truth at first.