We present to you the third and concluding part in the Water Baptism series on our blog ( Click to read Part I and Part II ). This is a guest post by Nadine Sumithra, a dear friend, who has a powerful calling on her life to minister to children. In this post she addresses the commonly asked question: Is your child ready for water baptism?
Jesus and children make a wonderful team to build the kingdom of God. Jesus said in Luke 18:16, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Our God is mindful of children and He desires to reveal His secrets to them and work through their lives. If God can trust our children with the mysteries of heaven, then don’t you think it is time we stop underestimating them to handle what God has in store for them?
Do not hinder your children
What is the qualification to be saved? Mark 15:16 says, “….Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved…”
Believing is an act of faith. It is acknowledging your creator and accepting Jesus as your only Saviour. Baptism is an act of obedience to God’s Word, to publicly declare your love for Him. Therefore, the first action of believing automatically leads to the second act of obedience, i.e. water baptism.
Now if a child believes that Jesus is God, and he believes in the finished work of Christ, then it is natural that his next desire will be to walk in obedience with God and receive water baptism. So if your children have a clear understanding of who their God is (of course, once somebody shares with them) and want to walk in obedience with Him, “Do not hinder them.”
Do not hinder them: Jesus
We teach them the ways of the world, but what about the Word?
An average Indian child by the age of 11 years develops good understanding and is capable to make his decisions with adult guidance. (This age could vary from child to child depending on their development). So when children express their desire to get water baptised, do not hinder him by taking decisions on their behalf.
When our children decide what they want to wear or what they want to eat — we give in to them saying, this is their generation and they are smart enough to make their own decisions. We readily accept the way education authorities are upgrading the curriculum at school, saying this is the need of the hour. As parents we go the extra mile, ‘studying all over again’ to cope up with the demands of this education system. We see to it that our children understand what is taught to them and we make sure they are soaked into the system.
I am not against the education system, but the point I’m trying to make is that as parents we approve to what the world says is good for our children but sadly we ‘hinder them’ with our doubts and fears concerning the Kingdom of God.
We believe that our children can cope with the growing demands of the world but we doubt them in overpowering what God has in store for them!
How will my child cope after water baptism?
Our biggest fear as parents is how will our children cope with the life after water baptism. Let me ask you something- Have you found it difficult to cope with your life after your baptism? As adults how many of us have not sinned after we received baptism, or have we stopped having fun in life?
You will all agree with me that a life of obedience began when we took the first big step of obedience in Christ. The Holy Spirit, our counselor and guide leads us in the path of righteousness and our character gets sharpened by His Word. Then, is it right to expect our children to learn to be obedient to us when we ‘hinder them’ from taking the first step of obedience in Christ?
Trust God with your children
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me … for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16). Your child will not behave like a poise adult after water baptism because he is still a child. He will not stop making mistakes, but he will slowly learn to overcome. As parents you got to believe that your children are in the hands of the King of Kings and He has the best in store for each one of them. Your children will take Jesus to the world and make history. So let’s not hinder them!
I would love to know your views. What are your concerns concerning the baptism of your children?