“Suffer the Children”
Matthew 19:13-15 (KJV)
13Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
Having raised three of our own (ages 32, 25, and 17); working with thousands over 37 years of teaching gymnastics (currently teaching 140 at Sidney Gymnastics Club); and being involved in Children’s Ministry for 25 years; my wife Jan and I have had plenty of opportunity to “suffer” under the hands of children!
Of course, it’s not the adults who are suffering at the hands of children in the above passage; rather it is the children suffering under the hands of misguided “church” adults-in this case, the disciples.
If we are not careful, we can fall in that same trap today. We also can hinder our children’s access to Jesus. The God’s Word paraphrase renders the first part of Matthew 19:14: “Jesus said, ‘Don't stop children from coming to me!’”
We might ask, “How are we stopping our kids’ from coming to Jesus?”
One of the most common ways to hinder access to Jesus is to assume that kids are not capable of comprehending the truths of the Bible until they are upper elementary age or older.
Think of Samuel, the great prophet of Israel, being trained from age 3 by High Priest Eli, to serve God.
1 Samuel 2:18 (NKJV)
18But Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.
I’ll always remember an experience with our middle child, Nathan, when he was five years old. We were at an evening service at the AOG church in Great Bend, KS. It was a communion service, and as the elements passed by, Nate took a cup and wafer.
Being of the belief that the communion elements are not “snacks” to quiet or occupy bored children, we didn’t allow our kids to partake of them until they were fully able to understand the body and blood of our Lord and why we participate in the Sacrament of Communion.
In typical alpha attack dad fashion, I reprimanded Nate sharply, “Put those down! They’re not snacks!”
His response blew me away and still brings tears upon recollection today.
Nate burst into tears and said “I know that Dad!”
He then proceeded to give me an outstanding five year old explanation of Jesus’ body being broken for our healing and His blood being shed for our sins.
Way to go, Dad!
Another way to hinder is to not realize that God views the heart, not the age of a person. Remember David being selected as future King of Israel while still a youth?
We need to remember that God is not limited by time as we are. When He looks down from heaven and sees baby Bob, toddler Tommy, child Chet, teen Ted, adult Adam, and senior citizen Shawn; God doesn’t see a baby, a toddler, a child, a teen, an adult, and a senior
citizen.
God sees His men Bob, Tommy, Chet, Ted, Adam, and Shawn.
Isaiah 46:4 (NLT)
4I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.
God makes us, and keeps tabs on us, carrying us along all through our lives. He has a plan for each and every one of us. He knows our future no matter what age we are.
Isaiah 46:10 (NLT)
10Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.
A third way to hinder is to assume that younger kids merely need to be “watched” rather than taught until they are “older.” Remember Jesus at age 12, confounding the teachers of the law in the temple? Blowing them away with his questions and his answers? He didn’t gain that knowledge by receiving a heavenly “download” the day before. He gained that knowledge by training in the scriptures from when he was a young child.
Just how we go about making sure that we are not hindering our kiddo’s access to God? Here are several things we can do.
1. Understand that Sunday School and Children’s Church are not merely “kid containment compartments” or “baby sitting services.”Expect and put in place the best curriculum and best teachers to train your children. We expect our head pastor to feed the adults a bountiful banquet of the Word of God in the main service; expect no less in the kids’ service.
2. Understand that it is not the responsibility of the Sunday School and Children’s Church staff to make sure that your kids are fully immersed in the principles of the Kingdom of God. It’s not reasonable to expect the church in 30 to 90 minutes once or twice a week; to
counteract the ungodly influence the world system shoves down your kids’ throats 24/7/365.
3. Understand that it is OUR responsibility as parents to counteract the world system and make sure God’s system is implemented in OUR children. It’s up to us to implant God’s principals in our kids, and it’s up to us to “deprogram” or counteract the junk the world tries to impact them with.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) 6Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The implied “you” just before “train” being “us” the parents! Consider how an Olympic athlete trains for his sport, and that’s the kind of Godly training effort we need to put into our children!
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NKJV)
5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
In conclusion, both at church and at home, clear our children’s paths of any stumbling blocks that would keep them from coming to Jesus! Because when they get there…
Mark 10:16 (NKJV)
16And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
…They’ll be blessed! And so will you!
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