​1 Peter Chapter 3:8-22 Part 2

“. . . but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” ~1 Peter 3:15 NASB

Prayer Over Our Children

May my little one live in harmony with all people. Mold her to be sympathetic, loving, humble, and compassionate. Bless my daughter, oh God, when she repays those who sin against her with blessings of her own. Give her a love of life and let her see long days. I pray You will keep her tongue from evil and her mouth from deceit. Likewise, may You help her turn away from evil to do what is good and pleasing unto You. Make her a seeker of peace that she may pursue it with all righteousness all the days of her life. ...

Open Your eyes, oh God, that You might see and attend to her. Hear her cries and protect her from harm, blessing her when she suffers. Oh Lord, I ask You to keep her conscience clear and eager to do what is good. Grant her courage to share the reason of her Hope with all gentleness and respect to all people. Oh God, make her alive in Your spirit and save her through the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

“Let the little children come,” commanded Jesus to His disciples, “And do not forbid them for such is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:14).” What joy this verse brings to our hearts, particularly for us parents. But for me, this verse poked and prodded my conscience, bringing me to my knees in repentance before God. 
     
“Father, forgive me, for I have sinned.” My soul cried out in agonized repentance. My head bowed low as my heart cried out to God. “Forgive me Lord, for I have kept her from you and my words have forbidden her.”
     
I hadn’t meant for it to happen. My words were meant to encourage, to give hope, to lay a path in the wilderness so that it would be easy for her to someday follow. But in my very well-intentioned words, I had not recognized the foundation of fear which formed the path rather than hope. I had been blinded by man’s teaching and doctrine rather than the simple truth of God’s Word. And in my best intentions, a wall of fear and uncertainty was being built right before my eyes.
     
Sensitive to the touch of God in her life, Sweet Pea bubbled and bounced about Jesus. From the first song she sang to prayers for her classmates’ salvation to her kindness and compassion, to her sweet encouragements even to us as her parents to do the right thing, Sweet Pea displayed a tenderness of spirit and heart towards God. Yet, despite the fruit hanging before me, I am ashamed to confess, rather than listen to the promptings of God, I chose to listen to fear and the ways of man.
     
She’s too young to make a profession of faith. She’s too young to have a relationship with the Lord, the lies began. You need to wait until she is older for her to commit her life to Christ, then you can be sure she really means it, Even the legalistic faith with which I had been exposed bent its weight in support. ‘Wait until they are older before they make their profession, at least until early teenagerhood’ it espoused, ‘then you will know that they are choosing God over the world.’
   
Yet, Jesus commands, Let the little children come and Do not forbid them… Do not keep them from Me, Jesus is telling us, do not hold them back. Not once did Jesus tell his apostles to make the little children wait till greater maturity but rather, He bid them come. Yet in my fear, rather than usher her to the throne, I held back.
     
“When you are ready, Sweet Pea,” it started, “we hope that you will come to know Jesus as Your Savior and Lord.”
     
“When it is time,” my careful words hedged, “God will call you to Him.”
         
These words were said to encourage my daughter towards making a decision for Christ…someday. They were meant to leave breadcrumbs to the coveted place of safety…eventually. But instead, these words were creating confusion in my little girl’s mind. Rather than be encouraged, she began to wonder what could be so complicated and difficult about salvation that she needed to wait? She concluded that salvation must be hard to achieve since she was not old enough to do it now. Adding more fuel to her fire, was that I never thought to mention how uncomplicated and beautifully simple it is to accept Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Friend. Worse yet, Sweet Pea even began to fear what she perceived as unattainable, mysterious, and what she believed was way beyond her young years. 
     
It was an understandable result as our conversations with Sweet Pea about salvation were always preference for her future and never the now or present. Why? Because I never took the time, rather I was too afraid to straight out ask, “Do you believe?” “Would you like to invite Jesus into your heart?” For despite the fruits which hung ripe for the picking, I was afraid to reach out the hand of harvest. I feared asking the question because I was afraid, she might reject Jesus. In a convoluted way, I almost preferred ignorance over flat out rejection. Moreover, I was too wrapped up in old doctrine which told me that she was too young to really know what she was doing or too young to make a profession. 
     
“Let the little children come,” hammered the verse at me, “and do not forbid them.” Again and again this verse kept convicting me, leaving me in tears at the Father’s feet. My best intentions did not align with Jesus’s teachings. He was not saying, “Someday, let the little children come when you get around to asking them,” He was not saying, “Let only the big children and young teenagers come.” Jesus was saying “LET the LITTLE children come.”  
     
Here I stood in the way of her coming to Jesus by allowing my fear to prevent me from asking that all to critical question, “Would you like to invite Jesus into your heart?” “Would you like to know Jesus?” My very words aiming at the future rather than asking in the now was an act of denial to my sweet, young girl. The fruits of her actions and words demonstrated a love of Jesus and that Jesus was already guiding her steps, but afraid of denial and refusal, I hung back. 
     
It was not my intent, but sometimes our best intentions do not lead us to green pastures, particularly if our intentions are laced in fear or bound in the traditions of old rather than in God’s ways. Often, we mean well but get in the way. And that is exactly what I was unintentionally doing with my very own daughter.
     
Do not miss that first bloom of love for the Lord in your child for Jesus delights in the first fruits of our love for Him. Likewise, do not deny Jesus the very precious first blossoms of faith and love which grow with happy abandon in our children. If you see evidence of tender, young fruit in our little ones and witness a living out of faith in their young lives, do not be afraid to talk to them about Jesus and ask them if they want to invite Him into their hearts. 
     
I plead with you not to be afraid or hold back, thinking that you can orchestrate the time, season, and place for them to come to know Jesus. Do not believe the lie that it will be better for them if they wait until they become older to accept Jesus. Instead, usher them to Jesus. For if they already love Jesus and understand about His death on the cross for our sins, do not let man, theology, or doctrine stand in your way. Let the little children come to Jesus. What more joy can Jesus receive them to welcome the hearts and souls of the little children who love Him with such joy and enthusiasm. 
     
Yes, it is true that our children will face trials and temptations as they grow and develop. Yet, wouldn’t you want Jesus to be the One who guides them and directs them during these confusing and searching times? Wouldn’t we want Jesus to be the one to help them stand against the pressures of adolescence? Whose lens do we want them to adopt? Why are we waiting? 
     
Even as I write this, I know that we all hold different doctrine which shapes how we think and interact with Scripture. I recognize that what I write today may be even controversial to some. With fear and trembling, I bare my shortcomings and make myself vulnerable to you all. I write these words today because I wish to spare any parent from standing in the way of their little one’s salvation due to false doctrine or fear as I did. 
     
Let the little children come, Jesus continues to whisper in my ear, and do not forbid them. Oh parents, grandparents, and friends alike, do not wait to hold off asking whether your child wants to receive Christ, especially if you have taught them and brought them up in the Word and they are displaying the fruits of salvation. Do not believe the lie and push off the question which brings eternal life should they accept Jesus into their hearts. I tremble to write these words because I know many may disagree with what I am writing. Yet, my obedience is to God and not to man. 
     
All that I know is that God is calling our little children to come, and we are not to stand in His way. He loves them and He delights in their childlike faith. So, if they are ready, then lead them to the throne of grace. If they understand and believe, then do not push back the hour for we know not when the bridegroom will return. Praise the Lord that we have every assurance that once God calls our children’s names, He will not let them go and will pursue them as the greyhound of heaven.
     
The last word I wish to leave all of you is…. Hope. For it is not we who orchestrate our children’s salvation but Jesus who calls them by name and ushers them into His Kingdom at His perfect time. Yes, we parents yearn for our children’s name to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, yet it is only God who holds the key to their salvation. This does not mean we relinquish our role as teachers of God’s Truth in our children’s lives and that we are not to continually exhort, encourage, or lead them to Jesus. It does, however, mean that when we make mistakes, don’t do it right, or downright fail, that it is Jesus’s blood that intercedes on behalf of us and our little ones. It is Jesus who cleanses us from our sins, makes beauty from our ashes, and gives us second and third chances time and time again. 
     
Be encouraged dear parents, for God works all things out for His good – even my own blunders on these very matters. Allow me to share that despite my sins, God heard my repentant pleas. He answered my cries out of His holy hill. For it is only by His love, grace, and mercy, that He welcomed yet one more little lost sheep to His flock, adding one more lamb to the fold. Dear friends and loved ones, I encourage you not to wait but be on guard for the bridegroom’s return. Take full advantage of this day, this week, and this month to reach your children, co-workers, neighbors, family, and friends for Jesus.

A Parent’s Prayer

Use me, oh God, in my child’s life to make real Your love. Help me, each day, not to squander opportunities to share about You but to take advantage of each moment. Father, I am flawed and broken, but use me still as a conduit for Your Holy Spirit in my life and in the lives of the ones I love. Amen.