But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me,
it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6
God considers the innocent these little ones
And God considers us all His little ones
Those who have chosen to seek refuge in Him,
those who have humbled themselves before Him,
those who have chosen to carry their cross,
those who have given their lives to Him in servitude and honor
That means, when new persons come into the kingdom,
we are to care for and nurture them as Jesus would if He were here
We are responsible for our neighbors, our brethren, whether new or old
Whether a solid brother or a new little lamb that has just been found
We are responsible to welcome the prodigals back into the fold
Those who cause one of these little ones to stumble
Those who cause one of these little ones to stumble will suffer
a horrible fate
Treating the newest, youngest members of the kingdom with love
and grace is what Jesus would ask of us
He wants us to treat others how we would like to be treated
He also wants us to extend to others the same love and nurturing
that He has extended to us
God is not limited by the requirements humans put on others
Jesus knows each heart and He expects each of us to serve Him
by serving others,
including those who do not measure up to our standards,
letting our baby Christian brethren share in our knowledge
and in the love He has bestowed upon us
Jesus has made it very clear that He wants each of us to
allow His love to flow through us toward others,
whether they be our friend or foe,
whether they are a newly found lamb or an old and rigid fellow believer
He does not want us to cause offense
But when ye sin so against the brethren,
and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 1 Corinthians 8:12