The Value of Children

My recent ministry report includes the following:

I was in two sword fights, made a tent out of blankets, played “Star War Legos”, and lost three games of “Sorry,” “Candyland,” and “Hedbanz.”

Why, you may ask, would a 65-year-old man build forts and play “Candyland”? It is because children matter to God. Of all my ministry activities this past month I believe that the events involving the children in my life were among the most significant.

I have often wondered what was going through the minds of disciples when they tried to keep the children away from Jesus. Did they think that Jesus couldn’t be bothered with children? Did they see the children as unimportant or a disruption to Jesus’ ministry?

Adults often forget what it was like to be a child, but can remember the delight we had as children when adults showed an interest in us. The Clark children still talk of our fond memories of “Ice Cream Uncle Jim” who would give us as much ice cream as we could eat.

Nothing brings me more joy than hearing the laughter of our children as they are being chased around the yard by their spiritual uncles Joe, Jonyo, Jacob, and Kainoa. This summer we are taking extra measures to bridge our children to our community. To understand our ministry in Chicago you need to understand that our children are our priority.  I will never forget the first time I heard my sister say, “If children disrupt your ministry model, the children are not the problem.” 

The mark of a citizen of the kingdom of God is her/his love for children. Not many things made Jesus indignant, but the neglect of children made him angry. (Mark 10:14) Jesus taught that the kingdom God is to be discovered through the temperament of a child and so to exclude a child is to close oneself to God’s kingdom. Jesus noticed children and showed an interest in them. My hunch is that the twelve disciples never saw children the same after being with Jesus.
 
As we lay down our lives for the children it not only brings spiritual life to them, it also spiritually transforms the adults into the character of Jesus. This is one reason the Lord’s expectation is for us to disciple children throughout our entire lives-not only our own children but our grandchildren as well. (Deuteronomy 4:9) We never stop being transformed into the imagine of Jesus.