THE VALUE OF CHILDREN

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
He called a little child and had him stand among them.
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
--- Matthew 18:1-5

It is obvious from these verses and others that Jesus placed great emphasis on children.

This is why I believe that Christian Education, and specifically the training of children, is an important role to be filled within the church. Jesus taught the obvious fact that the heart of a child is most receptive to the gospel (Matt 18:3). This point is always easy to prove: just ask any group of Christians how many became Christians before the age of 18. The percentage is always significant. The reason is simple … children are the most eager, teachable segment of the population. The seeds of God's Word that are planted in the hearts of children almost always produce a bountiful spiritual harvest.

We just finished our Vacation Bible School this past week. I’m convinced that this will perhaps be the highlight of the Summer for many of the children who attended because of the extra special effort that many of you put into it. Our average attendance (including adults) was about 250 per day. The canned foods brought in by the kids, for distribution to the poor, totaled 3,750 items.

These numbers are nice -- but the most impressive part of VBS (to me) has been witnessing all of the many people who are involved. Space does not allow me to list all the individuals who have given of their time, talents and abilities to make VBS ’99 a great success at West-Ark. I am so blessed and extremely thankful to be a part of the West-Ark Family!!!

Don’t ever forget what Jesus said in Matthew 10:42, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Ted Edwards

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Bulletin Article, 25 July 1999


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