15 有人甚至連嬰孩也帶來見耶穌,要他摸他們,門徒看見就責備那些人。 16 耶穌卻叫他們來,說:「讓小孩子到我這裏來,不要阻止他們,因為在 神國的正是這樣的人。 17 我實在告訴你們,凡要接受 神國的,若不像小孩子,絕不能進去。」 15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
When parents brought their infants to Jesus wanting Him to touch them (which means to bless them), they were rebuked by the disciples. But Jesus said “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Unfortunately, today’s church is doing what the disciples did: hindering children from coming to Jesus. Nowhere in the Bible do we see that “let the children come to Jesus” means to go to Children’s Sunday School. To the contrary, Jesus directly embraced and welcomed infants and children to come to receive His teachings! There was no separate message from Jesus for children. When Jesus taught, young and old were all together. Today, studies have in fact shown that the separation of children and youth from corporate worship leads to problems.
“In an effort to offer relevant and developmentally appropriate teaching and fellowship for children and teenagers, we have segregated — and I use that verb intentionally but not lightly — kids from the rest of the church. And that segregation is causing kids to shelve their faith.”
Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids – Powell and Clark
Let us welcome children to be in the midst of corporate worship. Children need to see and to experience how others, especially their parents, worship God. Therefore let the children come TOGETHER with adults to Jesus; do not hinder them, because Jesus wants to bless them!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to welcome children into our lives, especially into our times of worship, especially since You speak to us as a Father to His children. May we bring our children together to worship You! In Jesus’ name, Amen.