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Parents have a duty to bring their children to Christ, and Christ’s disciples have a duty to receive them in His name.
When the Lord saw His disciples rebuke those who were bringing young children to Him, He was “much displeased” and issued a strong double command: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not” (Mark 10:14). Parents have a duty to bring their children to Christ, and Christ’s disciples have a duty to receive them in His name.
We must therefore guard against the possibility that we are hindering children from coming to Christ. We become hindrances to our children coming to the Lord rather than helpers in the following situations:
- We ourselves do not go to Jesus. How can we then expect our children to do so?
- We fail to foster Christ-centered conversation in the home. It is not enough just to talk about church affairs or to critique sermons. We must talk about Christ, His majestic glory, His love for sinners, His power to save, and His willingness to receive all who come to Him.
- We fail to live in integrity, so that our children hear what we say, but they do not see love for God and our neighbors shining through our actions.
- We fail to love Christ and His church.
- We fail to trust God and hold fast to His promises.
- We show little interest in spiritual things, so that our Bibles lie untouched from Lord’s Day to Lord’s Day and our religion is a matter of empty forms and rites, devoid of the power of true godliness.
Excerpt from
How Should We View Children in the Church?
By Joel R. Beeke
