In a world where we constantly hear news of children suffering abuse, experiencing negligence by caregivers, child trafficking, or the education system trying to implement laws in which their minds are too innocent to understand, there’s hope in God’s word.
God says children are valuable, even the unborn
Psalms 139:13-16 says: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Isaiah 49:15 says: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”
God says children are a blessing, not a burden
Psalm 127:3-4 says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.”
Isaiah 54:13 says: “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.”
Matthew 19:14 says, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
Proverbs 17:6 says: “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”
Mark 9:36-37 says, “He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’”
God says children must be trained, not neglected
3 John 1:4 says: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Proverbs 29:17 says, “Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.”
Proverbs 22:6 says: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
God says children are an example, not an annoyance
Matthew 18:1-3 says, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’”
Mark 10:15-16 says: “‘Truly I tell you, 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, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
Matthew 18:10 says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
Psalm 8:2 says, “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
Let’s protect and view the children in our lives as God sees them. And in times when it’s hard to see a child as a blessing because of their behavior, we can ask God to give us the grace and patience we need to raise them.