There is power in the testimony of a child who has believed in the name of Jesus. I’m amazed at times at how God will work through the faith of a child and lead them to speak with clarity and boldness about the faith they have in Jesus. We should never underestimate the potential results in a ministry to children. The effort to bring them the gospel will produce tremendous rewards.
Children are like sponges absorbing everything around them and learning from the experiences they encounter. But, they are often neglected by “important” people because they are small seemingly insignificant and not able to accomplish great things. Those “important” people may assume that children do not possess significant money and power. Jesus rebuked his disciples when they treated the children as unimportant. “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. – Mark 10:13-16
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I heard this testimony from one of our pastors that illustrates the boldness a child with faith possesses. A monk from the majority religion was in her house when she came home from preschool. He asked her what school she was attending. She told him, “The Christian preschool at Pastor James’ church.” He began to deride the Christians and say they were terrible and horrible people. He rebuked the mother for enrolling her daughter in a Christian school. After a few minutes of this derision, the little girl planted her feet, looking directly at the monk and said, “You better stop saying bad things about the Christian God or he will hurt you.” The monk backed to the door and expressed to the mom, “I must leave now or she will take all my power.”
The gospel has tremendous power to transform lives whether we are old, young, rich, or poor. Even young children can become a powerful witness for the Lord. The Apostle Paul expressed how the gospel works when he shared, “. . . because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. . . You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. – 1 Thessalonians 1:5
