The sermon on which this article is based was originally preached in the mid-1980s and at the time was featured by Christianity Today in their Sermon of the Month series.
Despise not these little ones
On the wall of the Sunday School room of the church of my childhood was a large picture. It showed a smiling, kindly-looking Jesus surrounded by seemingly hundreds of children. They were children of all ages, nationalities, skin colors, and ethnic types, wearing a huge variety of traditional costumes. I cannot remember if there was a caption underneath but the picture spoke for itself. Jesus loved children and the children loved him.
We used to sing a song which went with the picture:
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Perhaps you have seen the picture or sung the song, or both.
Is this picture and are these words merely sentimental, or are they truly Biblical? Does Jesus have a special love for children? I believe he does.
Consider the following:
Jesus said:
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matt 18:10 KJV)
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them. But the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children into his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)
Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes a little child in my name, welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matt 18:5-6)
I think you will agree that, not only did our Savior have a special love for children and say some remarkable and significant things about them, but he also challenged all who would profess to be his disciples to be of the same mind and attitude as himself.
May I ask you, were you just a bit disappointed at my subject in this article? Perhaps you even wondered whether to bother to read it. After all, (maybe you thought) surely there are far more significant subjects than this.
If that was your reaction then clearly you need this message. Please read on because you do not yet have the mind of Christ.
The Lord Jesus warned us to beware that we “despise not these little ones” as some did, but rather emulate the mothers of Judea and bring children to him that he might bless them.
Let us examine this subject in this way:
1. WHY should we bring children to Jesus?
2. HOW may we do so?
3. What JOY is there in this great endeavor?
1 WHY SHOULD WE BRING CHILDREN TO JESUS?
The first reason is:
Because Jesus Loves Them and They are Important to Him
The disciples had not realized this and tried to send the children away. “Children, go away,” they said, “the Master is busy. He is too tired.” But the Lord Jesus was indignant when he realized his disciples were trying to keep the children from him. He knew – and we know – if princes had been asking to see him the disciples would have said, “Well, of course. How very nice to see you, your Highnesses. You are very important people. Please come right in. We will open the way for you to come to Jesus.”
If very wealthy business men had turned up, they would have said, “The Master is a little tired, but we are sure that he will be delighted to see you.” And then to each other, behind their hands, “On your toes brothers! There might be big donations coming our way.” But children? They just didn’t think children were worth bothering about. They were not important.
That isn’t the way Jesus saw it, and it isn’t the way we should see it. Princes are not more important than children. Kings, and presidents, and pop stars, and ball players, and wealthy millionaires are not more important than children. Even if they are to us let me tell you they are not so to him. God doesn’t see as we see.
But here is a second reason,
Because Children are Eminently Suitable to Receive the Gospel.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:15). Do you remember when Jesus was asked who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, he called a little child to his side and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 18:3).
Jesus does not mean that we are to become childish or immature, but there must be some things about a child that grownups must emulate in order to enter his kingdom. You would think, therefore, that we would have a vigorous and priority ministry among children, wouldn’t you, because they are already like that – eminently suitable to receive the Gospel. Sadly, it isn’t always so.
So often, alas, we neglect children’s evangelism. An evangelist to children once said to me, “It is the Cinderella of evangelistic work.” He had been to an evangelists’ conference and everybody else’s kind of evangelism was given prominence as important, and then somewhere on the final day there was just a little slot for the evangelists who work among children. Very strange, the way we behave.
So, what is it about a child which makes him or her so eminently suitable to receive the Gospel?
i. I would say, in the first place, a little child has no difficulty in believing in God. When a little child sees something beautiful and intricate, for example, he declares, “Somebody made that.” It would never occur to him to imagine it just happened to assemble itself by chance. It is common sense and plain observation to a child that some things are made by people (such as bicycles) and some things are made by God (such as trees). To him the statement, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… “ is so self-evident as to hardly need to be mentioned. The world did not make itself. Only foolish grown-ups would believe that!
Note: Obviously, you and I cannot enter God’s Kingdom either unless we also first believe in him.
ii. In the second place, not only does the child believe in God, the Creator, but he also believes that God is Almighty and can do anything, absolutely anything. What other kind of God could there be? It is only later on when people get grown up that they say, “Well, I believe in God but I don’t believe he can do miracles. I believe in God but I can’t believe all those things I read in the Bible. They are impossible.” But that is the point about God. For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).
When my own children were very small, I used to conduct a little prayer time with them at night before they went to sleep. We would first discuss what we intended to pray for.
One night I said, “What shall we pray for tonight?”
Richard, who was then the youngest, didn’t answer because he was nearly asleep. He was allowed to go to sleep during prayer time because he was very tiny. It was irreverent but he was allowed to do it. He would suck his thumb and just drift off.
Timothy, the oldest boy, said, “Let’s pray for the Queen!”
“That’s good,” I said. “We are told in the Bible to pray for those who rule over us.”
Said Timothy, “Yes. We will pray for Queen Mary.”
“Well, the Queen’s name is Elizabeth. Queen Mary is dead and we don’t pray for the dead, actually.”
Alison, my little girl, asked, “How did she die?” She always had a morbid curiosity about things like that. “How did she die?” (She grew up to become a nurse!)
“I don’t know,” I said, “I don’t really know how she died. I think she just got to be a very old lady and then God just called her to himself.”
And Richard – whom we all thought was asleep – took his thumb from his mouth and said, “And then God turned her into a boat!!”
Our prayer time disintegrated into laughter. But that was no problem to Richard. When Queens die, they obviously get turned into boats. I don’t know how he figured out the QEII because Queen Elizabeth still reigns but I expect he had a theory. No problem; God can do anything.
Note: You and I cannot enter God’s Kingdom if we are not prepared to believe in the supernatural because the whole Gospel is based upon the miracle of God’s Son becoming man, dying on the Cross and rising from the dead. The Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection are foundational.
iii. In the third place, children want to learn and they ask questions. They want to know how airplanes fly and fish breathe. They want to know why brown cows eat green grass and produce white milk. They wonder why they have to go to bed when they are not the least bit tired but must get up and go to school when all they want to do is sleep. They want to know where babies come from and where old people go when they die – and pets. They also want to know about God.
“What is God like?” they ask. “What does he look like? How old is he? Who made God?” They are interested. They are not embarrassed to discuss questions of faith. Some grown-ups say, “Religion is a personal thing (which in many ways it is). I won’t discuss it. My beliefs are private.” (That usually means they don’t have any worth much!) Many, if not most, grown-ups think they know all there is to know about God, even though they usually know little or nothing at all. Children are not so arrogant. They want to know and are teachable.
Note: No-one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they humble themselves like little children and are willing to learn. We too should ask questions, seeking answers from God’s Word. Arrogance and ignorance double-lock the door to salvation.
iv. In the fourth place, a little child has an awareness of his vulnerability, his need of protection, and his dependence upon others. He may chafe at restrictions and rebel against authority but it never occurs to him that he can run his own life and provide for himself. When hunger draws him to the kitchen he hopes to be fed, and when fear strikes by day or terror by night he flees to the protecting arms of the parent.
Likewise, one of the necessary marks of entry into the Kingdom is a humble recognition of our utter dependence upon Almighty God.
v. In the fifth place, many children have very tender consciences. Not all, I must admit. Some seem more like little monsters with no conscience at all! But have you not dealt with children, as I have, so sensitive to right and wrong that one had only to say, “You’ve disappointed me. I’m sad today because you did that. You’ve let me down.” And the little lip would tremble and the big eyes fill with tears. I confess, I would melt.
Later on, as the child grows up perhaps his conscience will become, as the Bible puts it, “seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). Insensitive. But when he is little it isn’t like that. He knows when he has done wrong. He knows that bad behavior has put a cloud between him and those who love him the most, and he wants the matter put right and the union to be restored.
Note: We must all have tender consciences if we are to know that we need the Saviour. If our conscience is seared when we do things wrong and we think it doesn’t matter; if we have no sense of guilt for our sins nor care that our sins have put a barrier between ourselves and God; how can we ever know that we need the One who came from Heaven and went to the Cross to bear our sins away?
vi. In the sixth place, a child is responsive to love and to friendship. He needs that. He likes people to care for him. I used to stress to my student teachers, “Remember, there are two things a child needs above everything else – love and security.”
One hundred years ago, D.L. Moody ran a wonderful Sunday School for children in down-town Chicago. Thousands attended. Little boys and girls would sometimes walk several miles to get there. Many were ragged and poor and some were barefoot. He asked a little boy one day, “Why do you walk so far to come here?” And the boy said, “Because they love a fellow here, Mr. Moody.”
Children were always near Jesus because they knew he loved them. As we have seen, when Jesus was teaching about true greatness and wanted a living picture to illustrate his point that true greatness begins with humility, he simply called to his side one of the little children sitting close to him.
When Jesus Christ rode in meekness and majesty into Jerusalem the children were there.
In the Temple courts they shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The religious leaders indignantly rebuked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?’” (Matthew 21:15-16)
Note: Entry into the Kingdom of God is needing and receiving the proffered love of God in Jesus Christ, who loved us and died for us.
So, children, then, are eminently suitable to receive the Gospel because they have these childlike characteristics which our Lord Jesus says we all must have if we are to enter his Kingdom.
Now here is a third reason why we should bring children to Jesus:
Because Jesus Saves Children and Welcomes Them into His Kingdom
We have seen beyond question that Jesus loves little children but does he also save them? Yes, I believe he does.
How very strange it would be if the Lord Jesus had said that we all were to humble ourselves to have the characteristics of a child in order to be saved, but children themselves must wait until they grow up!
When Jesus said, “For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” I believe he meant what he said.
Jesus also said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung round his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
“Who believe in me…” It couldn’t be plainer.
Therefore, I believe that although a child may be young with many things he doesn’t yet understand, he can know enough of the Gospel to believe and be saved. He can know and believe that Jesus loves him, died for him on the Cross, rose from the grave and is alive for evermore. His heart may be tender but he can give it to Jesus.
When the children were brought to the Savior “…he took them into his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them” (Mark 10:16). How beautiful. He is still doing that as we bring our precious ones to him. Some of our closest friends trusted Christ when they were very small. They do not doubt that is when they were eternally saved.
In 1857 a great spiritual Awakening began in New York City and the revival fires spread throughout the United States, across Great Britain and beyond. Edward Payson Hammond, a twenty-seven-year-old preacher from Connecticut, crossed to Scotland to help in the revival.
After preaching in Musselburgh, he realized that he had left his top coat in the vestry of the church. Returning he found the vestry door locked but, upon knocking he was admitted by a tiny little girl.
She explained, “Och, a few of us wee lasses are praying.”
The evangelist asked if he might join them. To hear these little girls lift up their hearts in prayer to God that their friends might be converted so moved him that he there and then dedicated his life to children’s evangelism. He founded the Children’s Special Service Mission.
C H Spurgeon once filled his church with eight thousand children to hear Hammond preach. Seventeen years later Hammond returned and found that converts from that meeting were Spurgeon’s strongest church officers and workers.
Those who say that child converts do not last should recognize that when GOD converts them, they last for eternity.
Those are some of the reasons WHY we should undertake this great task.
2. HOW MAY WE BRING CHILDREN TO JESUS?
First of all, we may bring children to Jesus:
By Prayer
Just because they are little children and open to hear the Gospel does not mean that they will believe the Gospel. No one is born a Christian. It is a wonderful privilege to have Christian parents but even they cannot make their precious child into a Christian. Only God can do this great and gracious work. God has no grandchildren. Jesus said each of us must be “born again” which he explained as meaning receiving new, spiritual life from above. So, we must pray for our children. I praise God for those who prayed for me. I am sure you do.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, mentioned above, was one of the greatest preachers the world has ever known. He preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London for thirty years, morning and evening, to five to six thousand people.
He was raised in a town called Colchester in the east of England, and his father was a lay preacher. Mr. Spurgeon Senior would go out every Sunday ministering the Word.
One day as he left home and walked the street, he felt convicted that he was going to minister to other people but was neglecting his own family’s spiritual welfare. So, turning about he returned home.
As he was going up the stairway to the apartment where they lived he heard a voice raised. It was the voice of his wife. At first he wondered if she was being angry and someone was misbehaving. Then, as he stood hesitating outside the door, he realized she was in prayer. In an agony of soul and earnestness of heart, and with a tremble in her voice, she was pleading for the salvation of her children, “…especially,” he heard her say, “my eldest son, Charles.”
God heard that prayer, and saved the boy in his teens, and made him the “Prince of Preachers” who led tens of thousands to Jesus Christ. Spurgeon himself told how he remembered his mother’s hands laid upon him as she cried, “O that my son might live before Thee!”
Pray for your children.
Pray for your grandchildren.
Pray for your nephews and nieces.
Pray for your neighbor’s children.
Pray for the children of your colleagues at work.
Perhaps you will be the only person who ever prays for that child.
That is first how we are to bring children to Jesus. By bringing them to his throne in prayer.
Not only should we pray for them but we should also pray with them – as did Mrs Spurgeon. Parents do you pray with your children? I don’t mean just a quick recited “Blessing” before meals (or even a long inappropriate pre-meal intercession, while the food grows cold and everyone is else is wishing you would finish!); I mean Family Prayer.
The late Chaplain to the US Senate, Dr. Richard Halverson, was once discussing the issue of Prayer in Schools and he told of this incident.
He was somewhere out West at a very large breakfast for Christian men. They were to be addressed by (among others) a Christian Senator. By the time the Senator rose other speakers had roused these men to a high pitch of excitement by their rhetoric addressing some of the hot-button issues concerning religion and the State.
The Senator asked the men how many were fathers. Most were. How many believed there should be prayer in the public schools. Most hands were instantly raised. When he asked if they were sure, the men roared their affirmation.
When the noise and excitement died down the Senator asked those fathers to raise their hands who prayed with their children at home. There was a stunned and sheepish silence and only a few hands were raised.
Do I have a reader who is a father but who is too busy to pray with his children? Perhaps you also wish there was prayer in school but you do not have it in your home. As debate continues on what prayers are allowed in the public place, let us be sure we are not found wanting for prayers in the private place.
A second way we bring children to Jesus is:
By Teaching
We should teach our children many things, but let us make sure we teach them God’s Word. Let that be the basis of our curriculum always.
Paul wrote to Timothy, “From a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:16). His teachers were his faithful mother and grandmother (see 1 Timothy 1:5, Acts 16:1-3).
The Importance of Parents. This teaching is primarily the responsibility of the parents. Too many Christian parents leave it all to the church and the things of God are rarely, if ever, spoken of in the home. In the worst cases the only time the children hear religion discussed, is in the form of complaints about the church and criticism of the preacher. Instead of gathering around the Sunday lunch table to give thanks for the privilege of worship and the nourishment of the Word, watering it by discussion and prayer, the family is treated to “roast minister.” Little wonder some children grow up cynical and reject the Christian Gospel.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, God’s ancient people the Jews were commanded to teach their children the things of God. “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7).
Clearly the Lord intended that our teaching of the children should not be just the formal sessions – though those are important – but family conversation should frequently be about the things of God and about the Scriptures. If, as the children grow up listening to our adult conversation, all we ever talk about is sport or politics or work, what will they think is really important to us? Certainly not our Christian Faith.
We should encourage the children to ask questions and never willfully give them a wrong answer – on anything. If we do not know the answer we should say so. There is no shame in that. Best of all is to say, “I don’t know but let’s try and find out together.” If it is a matter beyond human understanding – as it may well be – we must not be ashamed to say that also.
Parents should sometimes ask questions of their children to check their understanding. It can be quite revealing.
I love the story which Dr R C Sproul tells in one of his books. If my memory serves me right, he was asking his seven-year-old son if he was sure he was safe for Heaven. “Suppose you were to die tonight,” he asked him, “and stood at the gates of Heaven, and suppose God asked you, ‘Why should I let you enter my Heaven?’ What would you say?”
The little boy thought deeply for a moment and then volunteered, “Because I’m dead!”
The Importance of the Church. The church shares the responsibility for the teaching of our children. It is a partnership. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my lambs,” as well as he said, “Feed my sheep.” When we teach children God’s Word they are then like the children of Galilee and Judea who sat beside the Saviour and listened. Thus we bring them to Jesus.
The material should be skillfully prepared for each age. Stories and songs that will stay in the memory. Impressions that will be indelible. Some churches take the attitude, “Oh, it’s only the children’s Sunday School, anyone can do it.” To which I reply, “Despise not these little ones.”
Some teachers hardly prepare their lesson at all, never pray for their children, and just turn up on Sunday and “wing it.” To which I say, “Despise not these little ones.”
Some churches have programs which do almost anything with the children except what they ought to be doing which is teaching them God’s Holy Word and bringing them to Jesus. Perhaps even worse, ignorant leaders tell the children things which are actually CONTRARY to the Word of God.
Remember Jesus said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
My friends, it is a very serious business to have responsibility for the precious soul of a child, either as a parent or a teacher.
Thank God for those well-trained and dedicated leaders and teachers who do take this work and calling seriously. Week after week, year after year, they do their holy work and their Lord Jesus who loves little children will reward them. Said the Saviour, “Whoever welcomes a little child in my Name, welcomes me.”
Parents: never take your children to a church where the Bible is denied and the Gospel polluted. In some areas (especially in Great Britain) you can’t be too fussy about denominations. The question is, where is the Bible believed? Where is the Gospel preached? Where is there a Youth Ministry and a Children’s Ministry where my children will hear the truth? I have been amazed how many parents will go with their families to churches where they don’t teach truth. Is that how much they value the soul of their own child? They wouldn’t dream of taking their child to a pediatrician who would break his bones instead of mend them, or feed him poison instead of medicine.
The Importance of the School. How careful parents need to be concerning what is being taught to their children in day school. Children should be taught to respect their teachers, but be sure you counteract anti-Christian teaching with the Truth. I know this is an area requiring great care, but I am sad to say that the under-girding philosophy in many day schools is ANTI-Christian, and ANTI-Bible.
However, as a former educator I can tell you that research shows where there is strong belief in the home, lovingly and wisely and diligently taught, that will prevail in the mind of the child. But the key words are “loving” and “wise” and “diligently taught.”
Speaking personally, I applaud those churches, teachers, parents and others who, where permitted by the authorities, maintain Christian Schools and Preschools so that there might at least be a choice. I also salute those dedicated caring parents who, in the United States and elsewhere, home-school their children because they are so concerned that this precious and sensitive mind is molded by ideas consistent with the Truth of God.
The Importance of Evangelism. What rewards the Saviour is storing up for those who dedicate themselves to reaching neighborhood children who might otherwise never be taught God’s Word or hear the Gospel. For those who reach out to unreached children. Agencies such as Child Evangelism Fellowship, World Vision, Children Worldwide, Awanas and many, many others. I thank God for them all. Children’s evangelism should NOT be the Cinderella of evangelistic work. Quite the opposite. We should support it all we can
When I was a schoolteacher, many years ago, the Headmaster of our school was not a believer. He recounted to me a conversation with his little grandson which he knew would interest me.
“Please play the piano, grandpa,” requested the little boy. Glad to oblige grandpa swung into “Jack and Jill went up the hill…” and other nursery rhymes.
“Now play ‘Jesus loves me this I know’ Grandpa.” But Grandpa didn’t know that song.
He said, “I don’t know it.”
“Yes, you do,” and to be helpful the little boy sang a line or two. It didn’t help and this little boy grew quite frustrated. “Grandpa, play it! Play, ‘Jesus loves me.’ Play it!!!”
Grandpa turned round and said, “I am sorry, son, but I just don’t know that song.”
At long last his tiny grandson was convinced. With wide eyes and great concern the little boy said to his grandfather, “Grandpa, doesn’t Jesus live in your heart?”
I remember having other conversations with that same man on spiritual subjects without success, but this touched his heart.
Where did the little boy learn such things? Not from his parents; they were not believers either.
The Headmaster told me that one of their neighbors had a Bible Club and regularly gathered as many neighborhood children as possible into her home and was teaching them the Bible and Gospel songs. Oh, that is a wonderful ministry, dear friends.
Let me tell you something; I have had the joy of leading to Christ and/or baptizing many who I discovered owed their salvation (humanly speaking) not to me, but to one or more faithful teachers who sowed that powerful, life-giving Gospel seed long, long ago, and watered it with faithful prayer.
Spurgeon loved to tell how he discovered the secret to a mystery in his grandpa’s house. As a young child he noticed, on the mantelpiece, a fully developed apple inside a bottle. He could find no flaw in the glass yet the neck of the bottle was far too narrow for the apple to have passed through. How on earth did it get in there? No-one would satisfy his curiosity.
The following year, however, he happened to be playing in grandfather’s orchard. On one of the trees he noticed a bottle fastened in such a way that the tiny seed of an apple grew to maturity inside the bottle.
The secret was discovered. To the great Baptist preacher the lesson was clear: plant the seed of God’s Word into the heart of the child when he is young and the Holy Spirit will bring it to the maturity of salvation in due time.
Says the Proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov 22:6).
We bring children to Jesus by prayer, by teaching and finally,
By Example
I can think of nothing more of a stumbling-block to children than gross inconsistency between what parents or teachers profess and how they behave. We have already mentioned the terrible harm done in those homes where, as soon as church is over, the criticism starts. I have spoken with too many teenagers, going through a time of rebellion and rejection, who pin it on the inconsistent life-style of their parents – sadly often their father.
I know this can be just an excuse. I was a teenage rebel myself, yet my father was one of the most consistent Christians and Godly men I have ever known. His life in the home adorned everything he professed.
Nevertheless, let us examine ourselves and be prayerful and careful how we live.
Of course, none of us are perfect and one of the things we should teach our children is that their parents are also sinners in need of salvation. Part of our Godly example is to say that we are sorry when we are wrong. Some parents think they will somehow “lose face” to do that. I think the very opposite is the case.
Now this booklet is not all about parenting. But let me say three other things.
You can never love a child too much. A child may be spoiled by lack of discipline or by being given everything he ever asks for, but he can never be over-loved.
Jesus loved children. He spent time with them; they could get to him; he said special angels protect them; and his severest words were directed toward those who would harm them. Notice how Jesus “took them into his arms.” Hug your children often. Especially when they are young. (As they grow older they may not be comfortable with it. Wise parents are sensitive.) Loving words of commendation, support, and affection are always appreciated.
Love is not opposed to discipline. Godly discipline is an expression of love. It says in the Bible, “Whom the Lord loves, he disciplines.” If we allow our children to grow up thinking they can defy the rules and there is no penalty, they might carry that false idea into society and all the way to prison, or worse, into eternity and all the way to Judgment.
Nevertheless, we should always remember that, “…the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. As a father has compassion on his children so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:8, 13-14). God delights to forgive.
Love includes sensitivity and understanding. As our Heavenly Father remembers that we are dust, so we remember that children are but children and that adolescence is often a difficult and stormy time. Furthermore, this is a very difficult age and culture in which to grow up.
Neither parent, teacher nor evangelist should ever abuse the mind of a child or exploit his desire to please. The child is as vulnerable as he is trusting. He must not be “pressured” into outward decisions and professions of faith he neither understands nor is ready for. Let us pray for them, teach them, love them and trust the Holy Spirit to do his own gracious work in his own time.
In short, if we want to bring children to Jesus, we need to be role models. It is, I know, an awesome responsibility but it is of crucial significance. When our children observe our lives – and they observe them more closely and more attentively than we often realize – what do they see and hear? Does what they see draw them closer to Jesus or turn them away?
Finally:
3. WHAT JOY IN BRINGING A CHILD TO JESUS
We share the joy of the Lord Jesus because we read, “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children’” (Luke 10:21).
We share the joy of the angels because our Lord Jesus taught us that angels have a great celebration in Heaven every time anyone comes to the Saviour (that is why the celebration never stops). Since certain angels have special responsibility for children (Matt 18:10) think how they must rejoice.
We share the joy of the parents. Is it not the deepest longing of the heart of any Christian parents that their child will be saved and given to Christ? This is more important than academic prowess, sporting honours, or career success. For what does it profit parents if a child gains the whole world but loses his soul. I recall how earnestly June and I prayed for the souls of our four precious children; how I took them to hear Dr. Billy Graham, Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and any other anointed preacher I could find, in the hope that they would come to know Christ for themselves; and how we rejoiced as each one in turn confessed their faith in the Saviour.
We share the joy of the child, because no one is converted later in life but wishes his whole life had been spent serving Christ.
D.L. Moody, to whom I have referred, was once asked following a mission, “Did you see any fruit tonight, Mr. Moody?”
“Two and a half conversions,” the evangelist replied.
“Two and a half conversions?” said his questioner. “Do you mean two adults and one child?”
“No,” said Mr. Moody, “two children and one adult. One of those who came forward, half his life was gone. But two who trusted Jesus had their whole lives before them.”
Lastly, we shall have our own joy. What can bring more joy than to rescue the soul of a child?
As I write America is in shock following the terrible bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City; the worst act of terrorism in U.S. history [prior to 9/11 (Editor’s note)]. The most brutal and heart-rending part of the whole murderous affair is that so many children perished in the Day Care Center on the second floor. How the brave rescuers are searching day and night. What joy if they could but find one more child alive. Even one is of infinite worth. Every child is a treasure.
But we are talking here about physical life. If a child is rescued alive from the rubble of Oklahoma City and lives to grow old, he must even yet face death again. What of spiritual life and eternal life? The message of the Bible is that those saved by the blood of Jesus will “never die.” As John Wesley used to describe it, “…brands plucked from the burning.”
Allow me to share with you one example. In 1911 a young Sunday School teacher named Francis Yeadon knocked on the door of her neighbor’s house in the north of England. She asked the mother if she might be allowed to take her two boys, James aged nine and Alfred aged six, to her Methodist Mission Sunday School.
The mother was a little apprehensive because her husband was an Irish Catholic with a fiery temper. He had actually been excommunicated for punching the priest and thereafter never attended church again. Nevertheless, he still regarded the Roman Catholic Church as “the only true church”.
The family was very poor and the mother knew that this Mission cared for its children so she gave her permission. The boys began to attend regularly and two years later both gave their hearts to Jesus Christ and were wonderfully and eternally saved. James grew up to become the pastor of that Mission and a fine Bible teacher and soul-winner. Alfred became an evangelist and church planter in London with the London City Mission. James was Rev. James Kilbride, my beloved father – now in Heaven.
“All The Children of the World”. We are deeply affected – as we should be – when we see pictures of little children in Third World countries dying for want of the basics of life. Every day innumerable thousands die from preventable causes (starvation, malnutrition, disease, war). Thank God for those who care. Thank God for those who sacrifice home and comforts to minister to them.
What cannot be depicted in heart-rending pictures, however, is their want of the Gospel. So many children are starved of the Truth.
Who will reach out to these little ones in the Name of Jesus? Praise God for those who hear and heed the call.
One example that comes to mind is of Helen, a young lady I met in Brazil. A Wheaton College graduate and the daughter of missionaries, she had given herself to working among the thousands of abandoned and abused children who try to stay alive in the streets of São Paulo.
Many years ago a pastor friend of mine in Malaga, Spain, took me one day to a new meeting he had started. It was for children. He had rented a disused store-front type church building amongst closely built high-rise apartments. There were thousands of children who had nowhere to play except the streets. They crowded into his meeting which he held several evenings each week. “I have only to open the doors,” he told me, “and they flood in.” It brought tears to my eyes to hear them sing the little Bible songs he had already taught them and to watch them as they listened to his illustrated stories of Jesus and his love.
It brought tears to my heart, however, when he wrote me later that he had abandoned the project because he was exhausted and had little or no help.
In Britain ninety-percent of the population never go to any church. If Britain isn’t pagan, it is certainly post-Christian. What of the children? Both in Britain and in the United States, from the poor neighborhoods of our inner cities to the affluent suburbs that surround them, millions of children grow up knowing no more of Jesus than to hear his Name used as a curse. Shall we just ignore these children? How can we despise these little ones?
Who will go? Maybe God will lay it upon the heart of someone reading this article to respond to the call of the world’s children. Will God call you to train and become an evangelist to children or the director of children’s work in the local church?
I cannot imagine a higher calling.
Who will support? Will you financially support those who do this holy work.
What an investment!
Who will serve? Will you open your home or yard to hold a Bible Club or Vacation Bible School for your neighborhood children? Perhaps there is a need for teachers and helpers in your church.
Will you offer your services?
Who will pray? Will you pray? – pray for every child you know. I say again, in some cases you will be the only one who ever brings that child in prayer to Jesus.
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Yes; work among children is hard work and dedicated work. It is a work of faith. Sometimes others may reap what you have sown. But who knows what miracles of grace you will see, what joy you will experience and what reward you will gain, here and in Heaven.
In my view – and who can dispute it – this is work which comes straight from the heart of Jesus. Yes,
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world.