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April.1.05: Light for the Day - "Why Minister to Children?"

-- Matthew 19:13-15  [Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15,16]
13 Some children were brought to Jesus so He could lay His hands on them and pray for them. The disciples told them not to bother Him.
14 But Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."
15 And He put His hands on their heads and blessed them before He left.

-- Proverbs 22:6 
Train up a child in the way he should go, 
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

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Two and a Half

Returning to his friend’s home after conducting meetings in a town in England, D. L. Moody was asked by his host, 
“How many were converted tonight in the meeting?”

“Two and a half,” replied Moody.

“What do you mean?” asked his friend. “Were there two adults and a child?”

“No,” said the evangelist, “it was two children and one adult. The children have given their lives to Christ in their youth, while the adult has come with half of his life.”

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Why Minister to Children?

In the first chapter of her classic book, Children in the Bible School, Dr. Lois E. LeBar listed eight reasons for emphasizing children’s ministry:

1. The Bible clearly teaches that Christ Jesus calls the children to Himself (See Matthew 18:1–14 and 19:13–15). Jesus said about adults, “Compel them to come” (Luke 14:23), but He said of children, “Let them come unto Me” (Matthew 19:14). Much more readily than adults, children feel the need of the Savior, and gladly come when they hear that He is near, if only parents and teachers are willing to take the time to lead them gently to Him.

2. The most favorable soil for sowing the seed of the Word is the plastic (pliable) heart of a child.

3. Early childhood’s natural faith and dependency are soon outgrown. Faith is natural to a child, for complete physical dependence is accompanied by absolute emotional confidence.

4. Habits of the first seven years are indelibly established.

5. Less time and effort are necessary to win many children to Christ than one adult.

6. Children have their whole lives ahead of them for service. Suppose that Paul had been converted at seventy instead of twenty-five. There would have been no Paul in history. There was a Matthew Henry because he was converted at eleven and not at seventy; an Isaac Watts because he was converted at nine and not at sixty; a Jonathan Edwards because he was converted at eight and not eighty; a Richard Baxter because he was converted at six and not sixty.

7. Children open many homes for personal work. Visiting children’s homes furnishes a natural approach for conversation about spiritual things.

8. A teacher’s own life is matured as he sees himself as God’s child learning His higher ways. The disciples of old were amazed to discover not only that Christ gave children preference over adults, but also that adults had something to learn from children. One children’s worker said, “Outside the Word itself, no other single factor has helped me grow spiritually as has work with children.”

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-- Deuteronomy 4:9 
"But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the LORD do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren."

-- Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.
5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.
7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.
8 Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead.
9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

-- Psalms 78:4 
We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD. We will tell of His power and the mighty miracles He did.

-- 2 Timothy 3:15-17
15 And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

-- Matthew 18:1-6
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,
3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

-- Ephesians 6:1-4
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 "Honor your father and mother"— which is the first commandment with a promise—
3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." {Deut. 5:16}
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.