“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. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never come in.’ And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them” (Mark 10:13-16).
There is a lot about children in the news lately. Children taken from their parents along the Mexican border with the United States; children’s parents being rounded up by federal agents while the children are at their first day of classes in the new school year. Children whose parents are gunned down by mass murderers and terrorists.
It’s time we look at what the Bible and, in particular, the New Testament says about children.
How Does God Feel about Children?
In the passage above, Jesus makes it clear that entry into God’s kingdom requires a childlike faith on the part of the believer. Unfortunately, there are some who profess to follow Jesus who misunderstand the wording and come across as acting childish, not childlike. There is a difference. The childish one focuses on himself or herself. Such a person cannot see beyond their own needs and wants, insisting that everything be done for them, pouting when things don’t go their way. We’ve all known children like that. Virtually every child at some point in life is exactly like that. That’s not what Jesus meant.
The childlikeness that Jesus mentions is a willingness to come to God with an absolute faith in Him and His ability to care for us and teach us. Think back to your days as a child. Most of us never worried about the essentials of life—where we would live, what we would eat, how we would get dressed, etc. Mom and Dad took care of all those things, so all we had to do was focus on being a good student and doing our house chores—making beds, brushing our teeth and so forth. The childlike nature is the one that always knows Mom and Dad will work it out.
Childlikeness is the small child, not the teenager. The small child is the one that delights in Daddy coming home and in Mommy kissing boo-boos to make them better. The small child instinctively trusts the parent to protect them from all the bogeymen in the world, real or imagined.
God’s understanding of the child is reflected in the relationship He forms with those who have faith in Him. “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory” (Romans 8:14-17).
The ideas present in these two passages is that God, by His grace and mercy, enables us to become His children, and that He becomes our Father. That relationship is sealed by His Spirit within us and gives us an intimacy with God that allows us to call Him “Papa” or “Dad.”
And that relationship allows us to trust Him to take care of our needs, while also teaching us and leading us to become more like Him each day. “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:7-11). The meeting of the needs is seen among other places in Matthew 7:7-11. In that passage, Jesus asks the rhetorical question of if a child asks his father for bread isn’t given a rock instead, or asks for a fish but doesn’t receive a snake. The point then is that our earthly parents, who are evil in comparison to God, seek to give us the best they can. How much more does the heavenly Father give good gifts to those who are His children?
So God thinks so highly of children that He extends that relationship to those who place their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
But What Does the Bible Say About Children in General?
The Bible really doesn’t speak to the issue of children a great deal. The psalmist writes, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Likes arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (Psalm 127:3-5a).
There is the first of the Ten Commandments that deal with relationships between people (the first four address our relationship with God). “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). Paul expands on that in Ephesians, writing that the commandment is the first with a promise (cf. 6:2). Paul writes that children are to obey their parents, but he also writes that fathers are not to exasperate their children. Rather, the parents are to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). In Colossians, Paul rewrites the instruction to say, “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). In both instances, the emphasis is on the changes that must come from the parents, not the children, in light of their new relationship with God through Christ.
There are several verses in Proverbs that speak to the relationship between the child and parent, but most emphasize the obedience aspect of the child toward the parent.
Perhaps one of the most telling verses in the Bible about how God sees children is found in James’ letter. At the end of the first chapter, James writes, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:26-27).
James was inspired to write that we have a duty under God to minister to orphans in distress. As we consider what is transpiring on our border, we have to take an objective look at what we are doing to families and to children specifically. Whether or not it was right to take the children from their parents is not the only issue. When we separate families, we create ready-made orphans in distress, and we immediately become responsible for their total wellbeing. Not just being fed and watered and sheltered, but seeing to their emotional and psychological wellbeing. We have a duty to minister to the totality of the child.
“Yes, but the parents had committed a crime. If I committed a crime in the United States, my children would be taken from me and I would go to jail.” That’s true. If my wife and I had committed a crime that resulted in jail time for us both, then the Child Protective Services would have immediately removed our three children from us. But they would also have made every effort to find other family members to take care of our children while we were incarcerated. My in-laws, my sister or sister-in-law, even cousins would have been found to provide for our children during a very traumatic time in their lives. Help would have been found for them not just in providing them family, but also counseling and other ministries. To punish a child for the crimes of a parent is cold-hearted at best.
(And the seeking of asylum in the United States is not a crime. We wrote our asylum laws after the shameful way we treated European—Jewish, primarily—refugees leading up to and through World War II. Our current laws allow a person to enter the country and seek asylum. They remain free in the nation until they have a hearing. After a legal hearing, if it is determined that there is merit on their grounds for asylum, they are welcomed into our country. Otherwise, they are deported back to their country of origin. No crime, no record. Asylum, seeking what is best for their children. Would you or I do any less if we thought we could secure a better life for our children?)
Conclusion
When the disciples were shooing away the children from Jesus, they didn’t see themselves as being mean. They saw themselves as gatekeepers for Jesus. There was so much demand on Him and His time that they couldn’t see how spending time with children could benefit anyone. There were sick and needy people who needed Him more.
Jesus’ response to His disciples should be a reminder to us that He cares for children and their wellbeing. We do well to remember Jesus’ words, “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in My name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward” (Mark 9:41).
© 2019 Glynn Beaty