When the Lord Jesus was preaching in the world, he was so busy that sometimes he did not even have time to rest.  Many sought his help.  As someone who is so famous and busy, where can he find time to notice the needs of little children?  Due, perhaps, to this reason, the disciples rebuked those who brought little children to see Jesus.  Jesus, however, became angry with his disciples because the disciples, unknowingly, were hindering little children from entering the kingdom of heaven.  For Jesus, adults should emulate the simple faith of little children because a simple faith was the critical criterion for entering the kingdom of heaven.  What exactly is this simple faith?  We too had once been little children.  We were weak and helpless, and needed to depend on our parents or adults.  Only with their care could we grow up safely.  When we were still weak, we simply trusted our parents.  We simply believed that our parents could meet our needs.  We never doubted that they would not forsake us.  We believed every word they told us.  We believed that they were capable.  With them, we need not fear anything.  Likewise, we should have a simple faith in God and the Lord Jesus.  Because of children’s simple faith, the Lord Jesus greatly welcomed and accepted them.  He even carried them in his arms and laid his hands on them to bless them.  The Lord Jesus regarded children as important.  This upset the ancient society which despised children and women.  Consequently, the gospel was preached in every place and every culture.  Every child received protection and love.  The rise of every orphanage and school evidences this fact.

Today’s parents, by and large, regard as precious every child in the family.  Not a small proportion of a family’s expenses is spent on children.  What benefits and makes a child happy often dictate parents’ decisions.  However, dear brothers and sisters-in-Christ, if you truly regard children as important, you should not only be concerned with their physical needs, education, or school results.  Their mental and emotional needs are just as important.  Do you spend enough time building relationship with children?  Do you understand their daily life?  Building the parent-child relationship from young is so important.  This forms the foundation of your constructive influence on your child.

But what is most important is not these.  We need to be people who bring children to Jesus.  Moreover, we need to seize the opportunity!  “Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death” (Prov 19:18).  If we do not seize the opportunity to exert a constructive influence on children and guide them to know God and walk in God’s ways, they would probably be pulled away by the world.  This would be a great loss.  The best thing we can give to children will never be better than the gospel and our legacy of the Christian faith.  Parents must, at the least, be determined to bring your child to believe in the Lord.  Hence, we must be exemplary at home, be determined to put away bad habits, and work hard at spiritual matters.  In addition, we must exert a strong influence on our children: we should occasionally use examples from daily life to share with our children applications from the Bible and pray with them.  We should also make arrangements through encouragement and demanding of them to attend Sunday School and Young People Fellowship.  Your children will become like those whom they befriend: “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov 18:24).  We pray that our children would be able to find a close spiritual companion so that they can encourage each other spiritually.  Besides parents, brothers and sisters in church also play an important role in imparting to children the Christian faith.  The church needs more people to come forward to teach in the Children Sunday School and assist in the Young People Fellowship and Youth Fellowship.  We encourage you to consider helping out.  We also encourage you, after worship service, to talk and care for the young people in church. 

As Children’s Day approaches, let us be reminded: let the little children come to Jesus.