Children- Blessing or Hindrance
Children- Blessing or Hindrance
It was a solemn worship service and the preacher was passionately trying to communicate God's message to a sleepy, heavy-eyed congregation. Suddenly, he emphasized a particular point he was making by banging forcefully on the pulpit with a shout. A little child sitting amongst the sleepy congregation woke up with a start and screamed. While the mother frantically tried to calm her down, the sleepy congregation had suddenly awakened, their prying eyes trying to locate the child who was causing the distraction. As the embarrassed mother rushed out of the building with her child, slumber and silence returned back to the congregation.
Jesus said "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Luke 18:16). The way we treat children in various situations such as at family prayer time, during a worship service, seminars, conferences or other public meetings, reflects our attitude towards them.
Children, for most part, are considered an embarrassment or hindrance to us. Our response to a child's behaviour or questions is usually ignorance or, if that does not solve the problem, we dismiss them from our presence. We use them to entertain us, to achieve what we never did. We transfer our dreams, hopes and expectations on to them. Children learn to imitate us and it becomes a vicious cycle. Our children treat their children the same way we treated them. Children are excellent recorders but poor interpreters of their experiences. As parents and adults we must facilitate their interpretation of life's experiences so that they grow up with better understanding of what they went through. We often forget that once upon a time, we too were little children.
Children at risk are everywhere: on the city pavements, in slums, in apartment buildings and even in bungalows. There are no socio-economic, religious or caste discrimination when it comes to children at risk. The needs of children at every strata of society are neglected in a fast-moving, selfish economy. A disabled child always lives on the periphery, getting only compassion but no opportunity to fulfill their dreams. Children below the poverty line are exploited by adults (through child labour and, more significantly, sexually). Children above the poverty line have it no better, constantly under pressure to excel in an unnecessarily competitive world.
Reaching out to the next generation in our homes and in the mission field has always been a challenge. Mission schools, Sunday schools, Vacation Bible Schools, Bible Clubs, Youth Camps and Christian education programs have been good ideas that have helped us immensely in the past. But today there is very little innovation, in stark contrast to the business and media worlds where children are the focus of their marketing strategy. Most mission organizations and churches raise funds and start projects for children on the mission field, in orphanages, impoverished homes and schools, etc but often overlook the needs of the children of their missionaries and staff.
A survey reported that 80% of people who follow Christ made their life-changing decision during their childhood. Interserve continues to serve the needs of children in our families as well as those in our neighbourhoods and workplaces. 80% of our personnel serve to reach out to children in some way or another. The challenge, however, remains huge. Join us in our vision of transforming children through an encounter with Jesus Christ. John Amalraj
©2009, INFOCUS, Interserve India
It was a solemn worship service and the preacher was passionately trying to communicate God's message to a sleepy, heavy-eyed congregation. Suddenly, he emphasized a particular point he was making by banging forcefully on the pulpit with a shout. A little child sitting amongst the sleepy congregation woke up with a start and screamed. While the mother frantically tried to calm her down, the sleepy congregation had suddenly awakened, their prying eyes trying to locate the child who was causing the distraction. As the embarrassed mother rushed out of the building with her child, slumber and silence returned back to the congregation.
Jesus said "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Luke 18:16). The way we treat children in various situations such as at family prayer time, during a worship service, seminars, conferences or other public meetings, reflects our attitude towards them.
Children, for most part, are considered an embarrassment or hindrance to us. Our response to a child's behaviour or questions is usually ignorance or, if that does not solve the problem, we dismiss them from our presence. We use them to entertain us, to achieve what we never did. We transfer our dreams, hopes and expectations on to them. Children learn to imitate us and it becomes a vicious cycle. Our children treat their children the same way we treated them. Children are excellent recorders but poor interpreters of their experiences. As parents and adults we must facilitate their interpretation of life's experiences so that they grow up with better understanding of what they went through. We often forget that once upon a time, we too were little children.
Children at risk are everywhere: on the city pavements, in slums, in apartment buildings and even in bungalows. There are no socio-economic, religious or caste discrimination when it comes to children at risk. The needs of children at every strata of society are neglected in a fast-moving, selfish economy. A disabled child always lives on the periphery, getting only compassion but no opportunity to fulfill their dreams. Children below the poverty line are exploited by adults (through child labour and, more significantly, sexually). Children above the poverty line have it no better, constantly under pressure to excel in an unnecessarily competitive world.
Reaching out to the next generation in our homes and in the mission field has always been a challenge. Mission schools, Sunday schools, Vacation Bible Schools, Bible Clubs, Youth Camps and Christian education programs have been good ideas that have helped us immensely in the past. But today there is very little innovation, in stark contrast to the business and media worlds where children are the focus of their marketing strategy. Most mission organizations and churches raise funds and start projects for children on the mission field, in orphanages, impoverished homes and schools, etc but often overlook the needs of the children of their missionaries and staff.
A survey reported that 80% of people who follow Christ made their life-changing decision during their childhood. Interserve continues to serve the needs of children in our families as well as those in our neighbourhoods and workplaces. 80% of our personnel serve to reach out to children in some way or another. The challenge, however, remains huge. Join us in our vision of transforming children through an encounter with Jesus Christ. John Amalraj
©2009, INFOCUS, Interserve India
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