1986 May/June issue Part 1

The Heavenliness of a Little Child

( The following is from an article by Walter D. Shepard Jr. in The Convenanter, monthly bulletin of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Laurel, Mississippi.)

Andrew Murray's book How to Raise Your Children for Christ comments on Matthew 18:4-5. The disciples had come to Jesus with a questions: Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? In answer Jesus called a little child and set him in the midst of them. In the Kingdom the humblest and most child like will be the highest.

In creating a family, God sets a little child in the midst of husband and wife and in that little child opens to them the mystery of the kingdom of heaven and the spiritual world. If that couple wants to know about heaven and what will prove their fitness for its highest place, they must study the child nature. On earth we'll find nothing so heavenlike as a little child, and no surer way to the highest enjoyments of heavenly dignity than in receiving little children in His name.
Let's look at what Andrew Murray calls "the heavenliness of a little child." Our Lord Jesus uses one word: "Whoever then humbles himself as this child...." The greatest will be those who think least of being the greatest because they lose sight of themselves while seeking God and His kingdom. Have you noticed the great charm of childlikeness? It's the absence of self-consciousness. The true child knows how to lose himself in that which is around him. On the other hand, the older child grows the more we see the curse of sin: it makes a person (every one of us) his own center.
Parents have the means at their disposal of gratifying the tastes and pleasures of their children. Thus they are in danger of destroying the simplicity and the tenderness of a child by stimulating the desires which belong merely to this world. "In the midst of a great deal of Bible teaching and hymn singing, the very heart of true religion may be eaten out by the artificial and unchildlike spirit of the homes in which the children are reared."
Will we have the courage to shut down some pointless activities as we realize our children's tender susceptibility to impressions? Will a haggard dad and a breathless mom be alert to the fact that the child is alive and alert to what surrounds him- the influence of the heavenly life or the withering effect of a worldly life?
"If we are to watch over the heavenliness of our children, then we must ourselves be childlike and heavenly-minded." As the Lord put a little child as a visual aid in the midst of strong men, we ought to remind ourselves how often our children teach us more than we see ourselves teaching them. The key is our commitment to making the atmosphere of our homes different to world's homes. We should evidence simple, happy, and trustful living in the Father's presence.
Lord, give us this grace to make our homes the havens they can be, not only for the children's sake but for the sake of Christ.
Let's spend less time exclusively with grown ups and learn to set a child, lots of children, in our midst and enjoy them. Yes, it's o.k. to take notes!