Dear Diary,
#A_Theology_of_Children
#What_is_the_Place_of_Children_in_The_Church?
Should
the contemporary church consider children as fully-fledged members of the
church?
Yesterday I promised to explore the theology of
children especially as we start our VBS next week. Over the years, I have
become passionate about children’s ministry. God has allowed me to visit various
churches and I must say that the state of children’s church in some of the
places I’ve visited is deplorable. I have observed that in some churches,
children’s ministry is totally neglected. I am grateful to God for PEFA
Gikomba. We value children’s ministry great deal. Kudos to my senior pastor
Bish. Mwatha, Sunday school pastor-Rev. Nyaoro and the other pastors Rev.
Collins and Rev. Irungu and our church board for the relentless support.
Before we can state the place of children in the
church, let’s first decode what/who is
church? A church designates: 1. Christ followers, 2. A particular
denomination and/or religion, 3. A local congregation and/or, 4. A building in
a particular location.
What’s
the place of children in the church?
In the Old Testament, it seems to me that except for
circumcision, children were admitted in the covenant community without much ceremonial
requirements. In fact circumcision was a symbol which identified a person as a
member of the Hebrew church or the covenant community, Genesis 17:9-14. On the
8th day after birth a male child was circumcised and reckoned as a
full member of the OT Covenant Community. Secondly, at infancy, it was
commanded that male firstborns be dedicated. You see, the child was already a
member of the covenant community and the ceremony of dedication only publicly
confirmed an already established affiliation. Allow me to delve a little into
the subject of dedication. First, only the male first born child was required
to be dedicated to God. Secondly, dedication occurred soon after the 30th
day after birth as long it wasn’t on a Sabbath. The first born male child
belonged to God but since God didn’t require human sacrifices (you know, pagan nations
used to sacrifice their children to appease gods but Yahweh condemned that
practice because it profaned His name, Lev. 20:1-5; 18:21; Deut. 12:31), besides,
the primitive office of priesthood designated to first born male child was superseded
by that of Levites. Thus, God instructed fathers to redeem the firstborn sons
with 5 shekels. (you can read about dedication and redemption of first born
male child in the following passages: Ex. 13:2-15; 22:29; 34:20; Num. 3:45; 8:17; 18:15-16; Lev.
12:2,4; Luke 2:22-35).
That said, is it
possible that an individual child can be circumcised, dedicated and reckoned to
be a fully-fledged member of a covenant community yet not knowing God? Well,
take for example the case of boy Samuel. After weaning, Samuel was dedicated to
God and served under priest Eli in Shiloh yet he did not know the Lord and the
word of God had not been revealed to him, 1 Sam. 3:7. From this case I think it
is possible that an individual child can be dedicated to God and even be
involved in the service, however, it’s possible the child does not know God or
have a special kind of experience with God. However as the child matures and
lives in consonant demands of the covenant relationship he can know and
experience God in a special way.
As far as membership is
concerned, a child is member of a church not because of their volitional choice
but by the virtue of being born into a covenant family. On the flip side the
child has a responsibility to manifest personal character in consonant with the
demands of the covenant relationship, Psalm 15; 24.
As a parent, you must
recognize that the choices you make have a great impact on your entire
household. For example, look at Achan’s choice in Josh. 7:24-26. It brought about
judgment on Israel and eventually the destruction of his entire family.
Conclusion
In OT church, a child
entered the covenant community through shared unity with his father. Secondly,
the home was a significant context of religious instructions/teaching and
worship.
How do we apply this in the present-day?
Tomorrow I will try
to answer this question so stay with me.
Yours faithful
scribbler,
NzakuNashipae
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