LUKE 18:16 LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME

LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me,

and forbid them not:

for of such is the kingdom of God.

Luke 18:16

The words used for little children, and the fact that Jesus took them up in His arms, points to these being babies and toddlers. We may think that children this small cannot comprehend the concept of giving their lives over to Jesus’s control. However, we have known of children who made a firm commitment to Jesus at an early age. Susie’s mother surrendered her life to the Lord at six years old and never waivered in her conviction that He was the Son of God. Susan was saved while in pre-school! Jimmy Draper, former pastor of First Baptist Euless gave his life to Jesus at the age of five or six and was called to preach in his pre-teen or early teen years. Children accept Jesus with a simple and humble trust. But even those who are not mature enough to realize their salvation are shown the love of Jesus by a church congregation who allows them to come to the altar, to talk to the minister, and to make early steps toward understanding God’s grace. We are not to hinder or dissuade young children who express a desire to know Jesus better. We are to embrace them and show them the way at their individual level of understanding. We teach them the basic Bible stories, songs about Jesus, and short memory verses. Even if they do not fully understand these things, we are helping them to place God’s word in their hearts. Who knows how the Holy Spirit may use those things they have learned? We model giving Jesus priority in our lives and the importance of reading the Bible. If a child tugs on your arm and wants to pray or talk about Jesus, drop what you are doing and make time to bring to the Master to be blessed. A child will grow up to be a church member, and the early lessons we teach them will help them be contributing members of a congregation someday. Take time to show the love of Jesus to the least of these, the little children who have open hearts to hear about Him.

Lord, help us to treasure the gifts you have given us in our children. Remind us to pray for them and take time for them, especially time to share about You with even the very young children. Thank You for the people who poured into our own lives when we were children.