"What Shall We Do With Our Children?"

Sermon on Mark 10: 13-16

Weekend of May 14, 2000

Saint Mark's, Watertown, WI

Pastor Karl Walther

The Scriptures assure us-- and especially us parents: Kids are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Amen.

God's Word to us on this Mother's Day weekend is Mark chapter ten, verses thirteen through sixteen:

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch 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. I tell you the truth, 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, put his hands on them and blessed them.

This is God's Spirit-inspired Word of Jesus Christ.

Introduction: The Question On Every New Parent's Mind

Dear fellow Christians-- to all of whom children are a blessing:

Let me begin by saying "Happy Mothers Day!" to all of you who are mothers. I hope Mother's Day brings you joy for a job you're doing well for Jesus.

Let me continue by taking you on a trip down memory lane.... You mothers, do you remember some of the very first days of your motherhood? It was after those eight or nine months of pregnancy-- with their morning sickness at first and all that fullness and heaviness later. It was after those painful hours of labor and the sore relief of giving birth. It was after those few days in the hospital -- these days: only a few hours! -- to recuperate a little bit.

At that time, you brought your baby home, everyone takes off -- maybe it's that your husband takes off for work now to pay for the new little one -- and for your part, you're left with one big question on your mind....

What in the world do I do with this kid now?!?

Theme: What Shall We Do With Our Children?

Well, God's Word to us today gives us the answer to your question. That's because this section of Scripture asks: * WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CHILDREN? And it provides a three-fold answer. First of all (1) BE CAREFUL NOT TO IGNORE THEM. Secondly (2) BE SURE TO IMITATE THEM. And finally, above all things, it says
(3) BE SURE TO BRING THEM TO JESUS.

Part One: Jesus' Disciples Wanted To Ignore Children

So, it was some nineteen hundred and seventy years ago. Jesus was walking the earth, instructing his disciples and addressing whole crowds. At this point he was across the Jordan River: probably some thirty miles or so from Jerusalem-- and heading to that city in order to suffer, to die, and as we rejoiced so recently: to rise from the dead to rescue us from hell for heavenly glory.

It was at that point that we read: People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them. It appears that these people weren't necessarily only the parents-- the Moms and the Dads. These may have been grandparents, or older sisters or brothers, or even just family friends. The little children they were bringing to Jesus were so little that Luke calls them "sucklings"-- babies. And the people wanted Jesus to touch them-- and while giving them a hug, no doubt, to speak a blessing on them, as he later did.

But then it says: The disciples rebuked them. And the Greek language God uses here makes it clear that just as regularly as people kept bringing these babies, so regularly did the disciples keep rebuking them-- which is a really strong word. Very likely the disciples figured Jesus was simply too busy to bother with babies like these.

Strikingly, the very next thing we read is: When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. Indignant is an extremely strong word. In fact, in all his time with the disciples, nowhere else does Scripture say that Jesus was indignant with them. It seems fair to say that this is most ticked off Jesus had ever been with his disciples.

Application One: We Must Be Careful Not To Ignore Children

And that should make you and me sweat. I mean: you and I might say to ourselves, "Well, we'd never do what the disciples did here. We'd never rebuke people from bringing babies to Jesus." But really when you think about it, we do exactly these same sorts of things.

• Parents: do you spend sufficient time with your children? Do you take the sort of time you ought to take to play with them and pray with them, to love them, to instruct them, and to correct them? If not: and I know for me it's "not"-- if not, we're aiming to ignore our children the same way the disciples did.

• Grandparents, do you treasure children the way that you should? Do you supply to your grandchildren the unique blessings that are yours to give-- a good example for them of faith toward God and love toward others? Do you pray for your grandchildren day by day? If not: and I know that personally I fall short in these areas-- if not, you're aiming to ignore children just the way the disciples did.

• And those of you who are not parents or grandparents: don't think to yourselves that you're left out! Do you treasure children as you ought? Are you willing to say, "I have no children, but I surely love them, and I help and pray for those who have them"? Or is your attitude more often, "I'm glad they're not my responsibility!"? If that's the case: and I fall into the same sorts of sins-- if that's the case, you are aiming to ignore children just the way the disciples pushed them away.

Part Two: Jesus Urged People To Imitate Children

What shall we do with our children, then? Well, we'd better be careful not to ignore them!

Now the next thing I'm going to say, on the basis of this section of Scripture, is sort of surprising.... You know how children are imitators. Most of what your child learns he learns by imitating you. My son, Christopher, for example -- months ago, at fifteen months of age -- was carefully cooking dinners in a toy microwave in imitation of his parents. You see, we eat an awful lot in our household! Anyway, although children often imitate us, in these next words we're going to read that Jesus wants us imitating children.

Jesus says to his disciples: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." And the words Jesus uses in the original language here make it clear: he's not just talking to his disciples; he's giving a general rule.

In fact, emphasizing the point, Jesus even says: "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Jesus is saying, "The kingdom of God: God's saving ruling activity through the Gospel-- the kingdom of God isn't even ours: except by way of imitating children."

Appropriation Two: We Must Be Sure To Imitate Children

Wow! How can that be? How can it be that Jesus urges us to act like children?

Well, it's not that we're supposed to behave like children. It's a bad idea for us to start slugging each other or calling each other names the way kids sometimes do-- right, kids?! I mean: I did that, too, when I was a kid.

But there are two things about little children that Jesus wants us imitating. They do often humbly, though reluctantly, confess their sins. And they do humbly and simply believe what they're told.

° Little children often humbly confess their sins. They just know they can't hide it if they made a mess, or broke a toy, or hurt another child.

And that's the way we need to confess our sins. Oh, we adults are great at trying to hide our sins. We parents will lie, "No, I can't spend time with my kids: I have to work, and a guy's got to relax." Grandparents will lie, "No, I can't put more effort into my relationship with my grandkids, I'm still busy working," or, "Retirement is tougher than work." Those without kids will lie, "Hey, kids aren't my responsibility. God gave me no kids so that I could go out and do what I want to do."

No, instead, let's confess our sins. Like little children, let's humbly confess: "Many times I've fallen short as a parent, and my shortfall stemmed from my sinful self-centeredness. Many times I've failed to help others who are parents, and my failure first came from my sinful selfishness. I have served neither others nor God."

° And then -- praise God! -- like little children, let's humbly believe what we are told.

Let's trust what Jesus says: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." And we are forgiven! "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish." And we are free from sin! "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." And we are paradise-bound! "Because I live," Jesus says, "you also will live." And we are heading to heaven!

And no more asking, "But how can I be sure? But will God help me now? But does God love me now?" the way we adults are prone to do. As Jesus says, we've got to imitate the littlest children: who simply trust what they are told-- and so are an example to us all.

Part Three: People Brought Children To Jesus' Blessing

What shall we do with our children, then? Well, we'd better not ignore them. Actually, we'd surely better imitate them. But the main answer to that question, "What shall we do with our children?" is this: "We really need to bring them to Jesus!"

That's something the adults in these Scriptures knew, isn't it? We read: People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them. They knew how important it was that children meet Christ. And their concern for kids wasn't in vain, because we read that indeed: Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blesses them.

Application Three: We Must Be Sure To Bring Children To Jesus

And we've got to do what these adults did. We've got to bring kids: our kids, our grandkids, and as much as it lies within our power even other kids-- we've got to bring kids to Christ. And how does that happen? Well, let me tell you....

• I can give you the first clue by pointing to something right up front here in church. I am, right now, standing no more than twenty-five feet from a place where the words of God's Word to us today are printed in big bold letters. If you take a look at the lid on the baptismal font, if you're close enough, you can read some German lettering that says: Lasset die Kindlein zu mir kommen -- "Let the little children come to me." You see, it's in baptism that little children first get to know Jesus.

So, that's the first thing we do in order to bring children to Jesus. We get them baptized-- even as babies. Jesus says: "Let the little children come to me." Acts two, thirty-eight and thirty-nine says: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and for your children." Babies need their sins washed away-- just like we do. And serious shame on those Christians who forbid kids from being baptized!

By the way, that's why we pastors have observed with joy how rapidly most of the parents in this congregation are getting their babies baptized. In the last three baptisms I was privileged to be associated with, two were baptisms pre-planned before birth, and two took place in the hospital on the day of birth. Those three sets of parents were ones that loved their children and valued baptism properly.

• The other thing we've got to do in order to bring our kids, grandkids, and other kids to Christ, is to keep them growing in God's Word. In baptism we've washed our babies, but we've also got to feed them day by day-- and if we don't, they'll starve to death. See, that's the way we've got to feed them with God's Word.

Already at ages one or two, kids love listening to stories. Why not get a Bible story book from the local Christian bookstore and read to your children or grandchildren?

Already at ages two or three, kids like watching movies. Why not get them some decent videos that have to do with the Bible -- there are a lot of them out there -- and show those to your children or grandchildren?

Already at ages three or four, kids can take care of themselves well enough to attend Sunday School. Why not call the church office, see to it that your child is enrolled, and then make sure that your child gets to attend Sunday School.

Already at ages four or five, it's time for kids to go off to school. Why not consider sending yours to our school -- Saint Mark's Lutheran School -- across the street? You see, our congregation's dedication to Christian education for our children is actually written into our purpose statement and our constitution. Our budget dedicates most of the money we spend as a church -- sixty percent, sixty cents on every dollar -- to our school. And although unfortunately we can't handle every child, especially those with special needs, and although due to distance or other factors it's not the answer for everybody, why not consider sending your children to our school?

And then by ages twelve to fourteen, it's time for confirmation instruction-- the one big opportunity for a Christian to get his or her first full look at all of what the Bible teaches. Even if you've been a little behind the curve on all of this, why don't you look to get your kids, your grandkids, and other kids into confirmation instruction this coming year? Just talk to one of us pastors....

Conclusion: The Answer For Every New Parent's Question

So then, it's every new parent's question, "What do I do with these kids now?!?" The answer is: "Don't ignore them, even imitate them: their humble confessions of sin and Savior, and certainly bring them to Christ." Christ's blessings to you as you carry it out-- and again, "Happy Mother's Day!" Amen.

The Scriptures assure us-- and especially us parents: Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Therefore, let us build our households with Christ! Amen.