Christ
Elevating the Importance of Children
from the Book on Parenting Teenagers
by Dér Stépanos Dingilian, Ph.D.
©
Copyright 2000
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (St. Matthew 19:14) With this statement, Christ raised the status of children from mere by-products of a marital relationship, to creations who are reflections of the Kingdom of God. No longer were they only the simple result of a sexual act between a man and a woman, but rather a blessed creation bestowed by God. Christ revealed their worthiness---not merely as an ‘object’ of pride for the parent, nor as a ‘material resource’ that a parent can utilize, but as human beings bringing God’s presence into our lives! In the process, Christ also elevated the responsibility of raising children from a mere choice, subject to human discretion and convenience, to a God-given command!
Christ’s elevation of child-raising to a sacred duty expanded the interpretation of the verse from the Book of Deuteronomy. More specifically, when God states in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (given earlier) that: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children,” we must realize that this ‘impressing,’ this instruction of our children, is actually a command. Thus, instead of meaning only that we ourselves need to love God, this verse commands that we also guide our teenagers to love God. This certainly is a tall order – but it is one given by God Himself!
By giving this high priority to children, Christ expanded our understanding and interpretation of God’s commandment to include the love of all children, and especially our own! Christ says: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! (St. Matthew 7:11) Clearly, for Christ it is a given, it is understood that even though we are not as good and perfect as God, we must still give our best gifts to our children. Moreover, in Christ’s statements it is understood that parents are responsible for their own children---more responsible than any other person! For Christ, it cannot be any other way!
Christ went even further to make sure that we ‘got the message.’ He stressed the burden and gravity of the outcome if our parenting is insufficient or irresponsible: “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (St. Matthew 18:6) It is clear that Christ is elevating children to a new level of dignity and sacredness, and placing the responsibility that the children reach their full God-given potential squarely upon their parents. In the Old Testament, the emphasis was placed on the parents being comfortable in this world if they took care of their children. In the New Testament, however, Christ is reaffirming the responsibility of parenting to even a higher level by stating the consequence of ill-parenting by saying that it would have been better for one who leads the children to sin, “not to have been born”!
But why? Why is Christ elevating the status of children?
The answer can be found in another passage: “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.” (St. Mark 9:37) We see here that Christ equates receiving and raising a child to being a Christian. No one can call himself or herself ‘Christian’ and a follower of Christ if he or she does not take good care of the children. Christ is speaking not only of physically hurting or abusing a child, but more importantly, he is referring to neglecting a child’s spiritual needs. Listen: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (St. Matthew 18:10) Clearly, Christ is asking us to not only attend to our children’s physical needs, but also to assure that they are truly nurtured spiritually. This ‘spiritual nourishment’ means maturing in intentions, thoughts and behavior – it is a holistic view of the human being!
Christ’s call for parents to go out of their way and provide in every way for their teenager is clearly a tough standard to live up to. However, when we ourselves recall, or talk to parents who do not nurture their children spiritually, we realize that the mistakes and misdeeds of those teenagers are wounds these parents will never forget. In retrospect then, we can see that Christ is not just calling for Christian parents to take care of their child because ‘it is the Christian way.’ Rather, he knows how high is the mountain of joy for parents who see their son or daughter doing well, and, conversely, how deep is the abyss of sorrow and pain when the child does not! We may say then, that Christ is revealing to us the joy we can experience in our children, while trying to save us the pain of seeing them go astray. This is the compassionate nature of Christ, who always reveals to us the essence of life and the true way we can enjoy it! He is also, unequivocally, the “Champion” for children.
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