Can little children understand the deep things of God? Can they appreciate the sacrifice of Christ on His cross? Can their little minds unravel the apparent discrepancy between law and grace? Can their hearts grasp something practical in understanding "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height: and to know the [agape] love of Christ"?
The general impression that seems to prevail is no, they are not ready for anything like that. It would be boring to them. Their level is Sesame Street, and after watching it six days in the week, they are bored if anything essentially different comes in Sabbath School and the worship service. In some churches there are separate worship services for children where the same Sesame Street level again is prevalent.
Many parents (and church boards) are content if the children in the congregation can develop a pleasant and "fun" social fellowship among themselves, expecting therefore the children will stay in the church when they get older; they won't want to abandon that social fellowship.
Children need spiritual food or they will die spiritually; and when children who have died spiritually reach their teen years, it's difficult to resurrect them. That spiritual food they need is what Jesus describes as "the true bread from heaven, ... He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world, ... that bread of life, ... that a person may eat thereof, and not die, ... the living bread which came down from heaven, .. My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." And "except" the boys and girls "eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, [they] have no life in [them]" (John 6:32-53).
A challenge to pastors, teachers, and parents? Step #1: take some time for prayer.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 10, 2002.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
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