On his show, Steve Harvey once read some letters that kids wrote to God.
Children can be so simple and honest when it comes to faith in God. God invites us to have faith like a child.
God loves children. Jesus surprised everyone by welcoming children. Matthew 19:14 says:
Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
Children aren’t the future of the church. They are the church of today! I was reminded of this last week when I attended First Baptist Church of Brownstown. I praise God for all of our children’s workers!
It takes a village to raise a child. This quote is thought to originate from an African proverb.
“Omwana takulila nju emoi” means, “A child does not grow up only in a single home.”
“Omwana ni wa bhone,” meaning “regardless of a child’s biological parents, its upbringing belongs to the community.”
“Asiye funzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu” which means “Whomsoever is not taught by the mother will be taught with the world.”
This makes it all the much more important that we raise up children to rest and rejoice in Jesus.
Proverbs 22:6 says:
Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.
So we’re given the command to train children. (v. 6a) Training is like teaching, but implies that there’s an intensity to it.
Reza Karkah is a man who understood how important it is to study intensely.
As an Iranian Christian, he sought asylum in the UK, who would allow him to stay only if he passed a test of 150 Bible questions.
We’re to raise children intentionally, not accidentally.
We’re to train children in the way that they should go. (v. 6b) There are influences around us all the time. There’s a story about a guy who brought the hottest hot wings to a work potluck.
There are forks in the road all the time that urge us to go a certain way. But Jesus Himself is the Way.
God gives us a command to teach children, and a promise that He will not let them go. (v. 6c) We’ve seen many children here over the years. Some children seem to leave the church and never return. But God’s promise is that He’s not done with any of them.
As we saw with the parable of the soils for the past several weeks, God invites us to scatter seed. As Micah pointed out last week, Jesus Himself is the Seed. The Word will not return void.
God loves your kids, and loves the children of our town more than we ever could. His steadfast love never ceases! God invites us to love others the same way that He loves us.