CHR IST IAN EDUCAT ION
How To Present Salvation To Children by Mary Le Bar
M any are the “ funny” stories that can he told about a child’s misunderstanding of Christian teaching. But to one seriously con cerned about their salvation, such stories are not funny. There is no place for casual teaching in eternal matters. The very least a worker with children can do, it would seem, would be to study God’s laws of development and work with Him to reach children. Who can tell how to distinguish the spiritual characteristics of a child from his mental and emotion al characteristics? We do know there is a relationship between them, for we must wait for a cer tain degree of mental development before a child can understand the plan of •salvation. Else would we preach the gospel to the infant! Then can we assume the child is ready for salvation when he knows the difference between right and wrong? The answer is hardly as simple as that. Before a baby can walk, he learns many an action is “wrong” from the “No, no!” connected with it. He sometimes deliberately and secretly will do the wrong and show evidence of guilt afterward. But he is still a long way from understanding the plan of salvation. When a child learns to love the Lord Jesus and desires to please Him, he is doubtless on his way to ward the time of decision but such a happy childish attitude does not of itself constitute salvation. Cer tain essentials of the plan must be presented and understood to insure that a valid decision has been made. If we reduce the plan of salvation to its simplest terms, we see that there must be need based upon consciousness of sin, knowl edge that sin merits a penalty over against God’s holiness, Christ’s taking the sinner’s place and this substitution accepted by the sinner.
through the form of acceptance without the Spirit’s work, resulting in later doubts and difficulties. We know this through the testimony of many who have come to the Lord later. What of those who did not? How dare we trifle with such matters! Numerous are the stories of chil dren who have stumbled over the expression, “ Let Jesus into your heart.” Children think concretely; they have great difficulty with the idea of spirit. Jesus is a real Per son—then how can He come into my heart? How can He live inside me? The child who refused to drink water for fear he would drown Jesus reveals a child pushed into adult concepts before he is ready. The “heart” as a symbol may be explained but so often it is not. The child is thinking physically; he fears an operation if he gives Jesus his heart. The “ heart” may be taught to be “ the part of you that loves and thinks and decides.” If workers concerned for the sal vation of children could only be humble enough, they might pre vent much intrusion of man into God’s province. We should explain the way of salvation and explain it in many different ways, keeping it as concrete and literal and close to childlike thinking as possible. But instead of pressing the child for a decision, why not let the Spir it of God do His work? Do we not trust Him? Of course, if we let Him do it, we cannot say, “ I led three children to the Lord today,” and this is a severe test of our own spiritual lives. But when the children come one by one to say, “ I accepted the Lord this week,” and tell of their own decisions at the time and place of the Spirit’s choosing, danger of “ profession” is gone. Children who come to the Lord in this way are “ possessors” of eternal life. END.
The very young child has little trouble understanding and accept ing himself as a sinner. The Bible verses we teach him are a part of the process of salvation if such verses are truly taught. The small child learns that God says, “ Chil dren, obey your parents.” This is indeed a hard saying for him! Like the law given to Israel in the wil derness to lead them to Christ, the young child through the Bible verses comes to the realization that he cannot always keep God’s com mands and that he is a sinner. (This assumes that Bible verses are not merely recited in parrot fash ion but are so taught that a child understands them and feels respon sible to obey them.) The second step, too, should have a wealth of teaching behind it by the time a child becomes a pri mary. All the accumulated knowl edge about God may build the con cept of His holiness before the child knows the word “ holy.” Wise dis cipline in the home teaches that sin merits punishment, that law is not broken wilfully without sure retri bution. Probably the simplest explana tion of vicarious atonement is that “Jesus took the punishment for our sins.” Our acceptance as a neces sary act to make His gift valid for us is the most difficult part to ex plain. The indwelling presence of the Lord becomes a stumbling point for the immature child. Perhaps just at this place we become most conscious that the Holy Spirit must do the work of making salvation real. Many a child has been pushed
About the Author Mary Le Bar is a writer for Scripture Press (nur«ery and primary lessons). She is the author of 'Tatty Goes to the Nursery Class" and has worked on vacation Bible school material.
34
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker