They brought young children to him, that he should touch them. — Mark 10:13
Her birth did not happen at all the way we had planned. I’d had visions of breathing through contractions in a beautiful hospital birthing room—a slow process with a beautiful end result. Our daughter, however, made her entrance feet first, requiring an emergency cesarean section. A curtain veiled off the procedure from me, but the doctor was there and did what was necessary to ensure the safe delivery of our firstborn child. She was handed over to nurses, her tiny cries filling the room and our hearts.
After getting her cleaned and wrapped snugly in a soft, warm blanket, the nurses brought her to my side and into the arms of her daddy, who immediately asked the staff if we could stop and have prayer. We left the scurry of the operating room to enter the throne room of God. My husband thanked the Lord for this gift, and he also prayed that she would trust Christ as her Savior at the earliest moment possible.
A few days after getting home from the hospital, our little baby was required to have a newborn visit with her doctor. The pediatrician poked and prodded her little infant body, causing cries and whimpers. A few months later, when we returned to his office, shots were necessary. Though our baby did not understand, we knew the shots were good for her, even though the pain they caused brought tears for both of us. Through the years we continued bringing our little girl to the doctor to keep her healthy and to protect her from what could potentially harm her.
Another “appointment” we kept with our daughter was that of continuing to bring her to Jesus. We faithfully attended church, where the gospel was preached and taught in her classes. At home we read from Bible books, prayed with her, sang choruses about Jesus’ love for her, and listened to music that pointed her to her need for Christ.
One day at a very early age, our daughter told me she wanted to ask Jesus to be her Savior. I knew she didn’t understand everything there was to understand about that important decision. She still needed to learn about eternal security, positional truth, justification, and sanctification; should I wait until she understood all this before I took her to Christ for salvation?
The Scripture says in Mark 10:13–14, “They brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 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.” Forbid them not. In other words, don’t keep them away! After asking my daughter a few questions about why she wanted to ask Jesus to save her, I knew she understood enough to pray. We had been talking with her about this since the moment of her birth! She knew she was a sinner and that Jesus had died in her place. How could I keep her from coming to Him? Just like her physical birth, her spiritual birth was different from how I’d imagined it would be. She prayed that day and has never looked back.
What if a child has doubts about his salvation later on in life? Let’s return to the analogy of the pediatrician. When our daughter got older and needed verification of her immunizations, we simply opened the records. If our children have doubts, we should simply open the record of God’s Word and teach them the truths of eternal security. If there is a question or doubt, take them to Jesus, and let them make their salvation sure! Don’t keep them from coming because they don’t understand everything. Just keep taking them to Jesus.
As our daughter grew up and left home, she began making her own appointments with a doctor, because she knew he had what she needed. Best of all, she made regular “visits” to Christ each day, because of that very early day when she understood enough to know that He had what she needed for all eternity.
Action Points
- What are some ways you take your children to Jesus? What are some ways you could build further on this practice?
- Remember Jesus’ words in Mark 10:14: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.” Jesus loves our children!
- Be consistent in taking your children to Jesus when they are young. The habits you establish with them now will help them keep their own appointments with the Lord as they grow older.
Written by Denise Cunningham.
This chapter was taken from The Extraordinary Mother. CLICK HERE for more information on the book.
