Feed My Lambs

Does it ever seem like children just get in the way? I can remember when I was a child, I wanted to help my father work on a car or repair something in the house, but it was obvious, I was more of a hindrance than a help. Some view children's ministry in the local church as a burden to be born so the adults in the church are free to be fed spiritually. While it is certainly true that children's ministry does aid in edifying the adult membership of the local New Testament church, it doesn't mean children are an inconvenience or obstacle to the ministry. No, in fact, they are the ministry!

When Jesus was ministering with his disciples, some of his disciples thought the children were a distraction from the "important work of ministry". Jesus turned that thought on its head when he rebuked his disciples for dissuading the children from participating in his blessing and power. Instead, he reminded his disciples that the children served as models of our dependence upon God the Father.

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.  14  But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  15  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.  16  And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.Mark 10:13-16  

The children were not a nuisance but an illustration of how we relate to the Father in Heaven. What a wonderful thing to know God deals with us as with children. As a matter of fact, unless we become like children, we do not enter the Kingdom of God! What a lesson for the disciples of Jesus Christ.

This past week we had two very important men visit HBF. The first was missionary Lee Carter who serves in the Dominican Republic. The second was Pastor Gary Haskel who serves as Senior Pastor of Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Pennsylvania. Both of these men took time from their important ministry to the adults to invest in our children. Like Jesus, they wanted to be a blessing to the children, and they were. We are so fortunate that they took the time to pour their lives into the precious souls of the children in our church. The children of any church are not just the future, they are the now! Discipleship, which is simply learning, doesn't begin when we are adults, it is most effective when we have childlike faith and obedience to the words of God.

May we follow the example of missionary Lee Carter and Pastor Gary Haskel and feed the lambs as well as the sheep.