Did you know, that God has a special place in his heart for Children? He admires their innocence, their unwavering faith, and their appreciation for his creation. I'm sure you have seen a child excitedly chasing a butterfly, or exclaiming at the top of their lungs the beauty of the twinkling stars in the night sky.
Children are like a clean slate. You can raise them anyway you want, and how you raise them will be reflected in who they become as adults. The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) If a person is taught from their childhood about Christ, they will grow up and continue to believe.
Children are so important to the kingdom of God, yet many times people look at children in annoyance, or they look at them as naive. Children are so easily dismissed by adults--even when the child is emotionally distraught over something important to them that seems minuscule to us.
A great passage in the Bible to show Jesus' attitude towards people who see children as having less significance than themselves, or towards people who do not having patience for children, can be seen in Mark 10:13-16:
“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on 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. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
Those who place obstacles in the path of a child coming to Christ make the Lord indignant--meaning he felt and showed anger due to something he felt was unjust.
If God has placed it on your heart to work in Children's ministry, or if you are having trouble deciding between another ministry and Children's ministry, choose Children's ministry. If you know that your duty as a Christian is to carry out, "The Great Commission," you ought to look for the most fertile hearts to harvest the seed of the gospel. Children are more receptive to the word, and you can seal them in Christ at a young age, and in doing so, gain more glory for the kingdom of God, and be honored in heaven for helping to raise up a new generation of believers.
"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;" (Matthew 9:37)
Isaiah shows us how to answer God's call in Isaiah 6:8-- "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."
Will you be as Jonah, running from your calling, or will you be as Isaiah and answer the Lord's call?
If you do not have a calling for ministry, and have some children of your own, I encourage you to analyze the way you treat your children. Do you treat them with patience and love? Are you humble enough to get on your hands and knees and play imagination with them, or will you always be the parent that was, "too busy." Treat them the way Jesus did--with compassion, not indifference; with patience, not arrogance; make them feel important, not inconvenient, and most importantly, make them feel like a blessing, not a burden.
"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." Psalm 127:3
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