[274 words]
I know that VBS is a challenge. I mean if you have been around children for any length of time you know if you get 70 (or more) children together – you have your hands full.
But it is important! This week, I fired up my computer’s Bible search engine and began reading all the various scriptures about children. This is some of what I found:
There are over 400 different references in our Bible about children – about the joys and challenges of raising them right. But what I really found interesting is that there were two scriptures about children that really tugged at my heart.
The first was: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Many times our kids are so bombarded by other things – such as school and athletics and band (which are good) – that they do not have much time to study God’s word. As parents and grandparents, we should encourage our kids – and their friends to be a part of VBS. As dedicated Christians, we should be willing to do what we can to help the children of our church and our community.
The second important passage was this: “But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘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.’” (Luke 18:16-17). In this verse Jesus demonstrated the great value he put on children. Can we do less?
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn church of Christ
Abilene, TX