“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to
such belongs the
kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14
kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14
“There
you are sitting in worship or Bible study. Your child, or toddler, is restless.
Perhaps they’re even a little boisterous. You try to silence them, and
nothing. You try to pacify them with food or toys, and nothing. Eventually, you
resort to the last thing you wanted to do: you pick them up, and before a
watching audience, you make the march out of the auditorium. All the while,
you’re a little embarrassed. Maybe you’re a little frustrated too. You might
even think to yourself, “There’s no point in coming to church. I get nothing
out of it because I have to constantly care for my kid.”
I
want you — you mothers and/or fathers — to know just how encouraging you are
to so many.
The
little elderly woman who often feels alone beams with a smile at the sight of
you wrestling with your little one. She’s been there before. She knows how
hard it can be, but she smiles because to hear that brings back precious
memories. To see young parents and their small children brighten her day, and
she may have just received bad news this week about her health, but seeing the
vitality of young ones removes — if but for a moment — her fears.
The
older man who always seems to be grouchy notices you too. He’s always talking
about how children in this day have no respect or sense of good. But, he sees
you — a young family — in church, and you don’t miss any gathering. Like
clockwork, he can depend on the sight of you and your young family. You give him
hope that maybe the church isn’t doomed after all, because there are still
young parents who love God enough to bring their restless children to worship.
Then
there’s everybody else. Some people will honestly become frustrated by noisy
children in church. They have this crazy idea that reverence includes absolute
silence. It doesn’t. When parents brought their children to Jesus, the
disciples rebuked them (Matt. 19.13-15), but Jesus rebuked His disciples. He
said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such
belongs the kingdom of heaven.” The term translated “children” in Matthew
and Mark is paidon. The root of the word “pedagogue” is from
this word. It defined children of either an infant state, or more particularly,
it was with reference to those who were half-grown and could be either males or
females.
When
Luke wrote his account of this narrative, he used the word brephos;
which means “infants.” Luke wasn’t contradicting Matthew and Mark’s
account, because Luke wrote that they brought the infants “also” (Luke
18.15-17). They would have squirmed, maybe even cried. This was likely why the
disciples rebuked the parents; as well as that they might have thought that the
children were too young to understand the blessing Christ pronounced over them.
Bring
your children to church. If you don’t hear crying, the church is
dying. As hard as it might be for you as a parent who’s
half-asleep, keep on doing what you’re doing. You are an encouragement, and
you’re starting off your children’s lives as you should”
(This article was found at http://veritasvenator.com)
“Lord, raising my children to know You
is the most important job I will ever do. Help
me Lord to persevere in that calling, regardless of the past, regardless of the
difficulty, regardless of my failures and inadequacies.
Every day is a chance to start anew.
With your help I will, with
words, with my presence, by offering help, and through prayer (re)enter my
calling to share my faith with my family. Amen”
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