The Importance of Spiritually Developing our Children

There was a fine group of young ladies and one young gentleman standing in front of me Sunday morning. The group comprised our 2012 Confirmation class.

These young people were publicly professing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and they were becoming “confessing members” of the First United Methodist Church.

For several weeks I have had the privilege of instructing them in the Christian faith.

They had learned how God reveals himself to us through the Bible, the teachings of the church, our God given skills of reason, and through the ways we have experienced God’s presence in our lives.

The group had learned the basic teaching of the faith. They learned the importance of the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. They learned what is unique about being a Methodist.

Our congregation affirmed the young people’s commitment and promised to support and encourage them on their faith journey. I saw a few folks shed a tear or two as the young people completed the ritual of confirmation.

I am proud that our church believes in the importance of children and youth.

We have programs to serve the children and youth, not only from the families of our congregation, but from our greater community.

We are very intentional in seeking to incorporate our children and youth into the larger life of our church. This is not only a priority for our congregation but for our denomination as well.

In fact, the entire concept of “Sunday School” was a creation of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement.

Mr. Wesley observed that many children were being denied the opportunity to obtain an education in England during the days of the Industrial Revolution due to the fact that many children were working in factories.

Thus, Wesley began a Sunday school program that was literally what the name implies, an academic program for children that was taught on Sunday in order that they might not be deprived of an education.

It is important that the church maintain an active interest in children. Jesus placed a premium on ministering to children saying in Luke’s gospel that “It would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea than for you to cause a one of these little one’s to stumble.”

All three synoptic gospels report Jesus saying, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

So it is that ministering to children and youth must and should be a priority of the church.

That said, it’s equally as important that parents see the importance of insuring that their children’s spiritual needs are addressed. Most parents see to it that a child’s physical, educational and recreational needs are met. However, it is my observation that many parents fail to place a premium on a child’s spiritual development.

In that past I have heard parents say things along the lines of, “I believe that I should not require my child to attend church and that they need to decide these things for themselves.” Quite frankly such an attitude shows that the parent themselves should evaluate their faith commitment.

What is set out as important for our child is usually what is important for a parent.

Most of the same parents who give their children choices about church and faith have no qualms about requiring their child to attend school, brush their teeth or eat their spinach.

I often see and read news stories about parents lining up in the wee hours of the morning to secure their child a place in a great pre-school or in a great recreational program. That is admirable.

However, rarely do I see parents fighting to get their children into Sunday School and church on a Sunday. That is disturbing.

Allow me to be very blunt—the spiritual development of a child is a parent’s most important task for its ramifications are eternal.

I am not a fundamentalist in my views of scripture but when Jesus said that “It would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea than for you to cause a one of these little one’s to stumble,” I believe he meant, that “It would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea than for you to cause a one of these little one’s to stumble.”

Many claim to want the best for their children. Whether or not one seeks to lead their child into a relationship with Jesus Christ determines whether or not that claim is really true.