| “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.” |
| —Mark 10:13-14 |
What do you do with your children on the weekend? I’m specifically asking because more and more I observe parents making plans with their children that involve fun activities, but to do so they set aside church and Christian Education (Sunday School) attendance.
I recognize that trips to the children’s favorite venue may seem like much more fun than going to church or Sunday School. But, I wonder if one more visit to some fun place might spell the difference between building a lifelong habit of church attendance and creating the idea that attending church is actually an optional activity.
I can hear the groans from Millennial and Gen-X parents all the way across the miles:
“There he goes again,” they say. “Some old-fashioned geezer trying to tell us how to raise our kids. What does he know? He never even had any children!”
It’s true that God never blessed my wife and me with children. But, I was a child once myself. And, frankly, I lived in a household where we never—and I mean never—missed church. Even when my parents would take me on a rare vacation, we always had to be back in time to go to church on Sunday.
Nothing I can write in this blog post will actually convince parents to change the behavior that they have already justified in their own minds. I do believe, firmly believe, that families belong in church on Sunday. I don’t think that there’s ever a genuine excuse not to gather to worship God, except for illness. However, I will stop lecturing now and simply turn to the event recorded in Mark 10:13-14:
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.
The Kingdom of God is populated by little children. They are under special grace. It is vitally important that this grace remain throughout every day of their lives. One way to help ensure that remaining grace is to bring those children to worship. Help instill in them the vital importance of a lifelong commitment to God.
I hope you will at least think about this. With another Sunday just a few days away, parents and grandparents could make a choice this weekend that might well have eternal consequences for their children or grandchildren. How about it? When Sunday comes, why not bring the children to Jesus?
Based on a blog originally posted on Monday, September 11, 2017
