It is said that Winston Churchill had a habit of tipping his hat to a child. Once he was asked, "Mr. Prime Minister, some of us find it a mystery why in the presence of many distinguished leaders, you often take time to acknowledge the presence of a child." It is said that Prime Minister Churchill quickly responded, "When you are in the presence of a child, you are part of the future. You never know when you are meeting a future Prime Minister of England."

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples.

He said to them, "Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children."(Mark 10:14).

When I was serving as the President of Hiwassee College I loved to participate in the reception of the new students who had just been enrolled. As I looked at the over three hundred or more new students I prayed that we would all see them as individuals with great potential. As we welcomed each one we were all aware that we were in the presence of the future. Only God knew the potential in our presence.

It is a wonderful experience to be treated with the respect that Jesus had for people. It is a terrible experience to be treated as less than a citizen of the Kingdom. Two experiences I remember that illustrate what I am saying.

Once when I was carrying the golf clubs of a leading citizen of our town, I asked him if he could give me a ride back to town after he finished his game of golf. He told me to be out by his new car promptly after the game was over.

Since I did not want to miss the ride, I was standing by his car almost immediately after the match. When he came out and got into his car he said to me, "Curt, this is a new car, therefore, I am asking you not to put your feet on the floorboard. Hold them up while you are in here." I was never sure why he made such a request. If it had been raining, I could have understood, but as far as I could tell my shoes were clean. The conclusion I made was that he felt like I was not worthy to ride in his new car. My self esteem was not increased by his request.

On the other hand, when I caddied for Al Rotella, the high school football coach, in the presence of the community leaders he would say something like this, "When you look at Curt, you are not only seeing one of the best caddies on this course, you are looking at the future of LaFollette football team. You should have seen him last Monday night in our junior varsity game with Lake City."

Curtis Schofield is a retired pastor who loves to tell stories that inspire. You can read more of his stories on the internet: http://www.curtschofield.blogspot.com/