Children are so dear to God that Jesus had to invite them to him to the surprise of the Priests, rulers of the synagogue, and even the disciples. The feeling that they ought not to come near Jesus was faulted by not only inviting them to himself, He also carried them and divinely blessed them. Matthew 19:13-15 captured the essence of their worth to Christ Jesus:  “Then were there brought unto Him little children, that He should put his hand on them, and pray, and the disciples rebuked them, But Jesus said suffer and forbad them not,to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven, And He laid His hand on them, and departed thence.”

Fresh lilies and daffodils are good to look at. They are acceptable gift of love as well as fresh roses. If we read through Psalm 127: 3-5 we will appreciate God’s expression of love and ownership. HE only granted them to their parents as precious gift from Him to them. By this, parents should know that they are merely custodians for the children and therefore, are expected to take good care of them. To families, especially believers, the onus of training children in the way of the Lord is incumbent on them. Under our statutory laws,when a parent  is granted custody of a biological child or by court award, the child’s character will be expeted to be moulded by the parents or foster parents.

Do you know that children do enjoy worshipping God and are usually a delight unto Him; Psalm 8: 2. They never feel too big or small to sing, shout, jump or clap for the Lord. This is why in Matthew 21: 15-16. Jesus did not despise the children as they shouted “Hosannah to the son of David” even though the Chief Priest and the Scribes were very uncomfortable. They asked whether Jesus heard the children and he confirmed that He indeed heard them, he further said; “Ye have never read, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?”

As great and pius as king David was, he sinned and did fast and prayed fervently to prevent the death of the child. The child died but David showed fatherly love for the child as recorded in 2 Samuel 12:18-23. Another angle to appreciating children is found in Psalm 127: 3-5. It says “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate”.

Now I say, were it not for the grace of God on King David, chances are that Jesse would probably have remained irrelevant in the Jewish history. David still mourn the child of his loin in the person of Absalom who exiled him and was later killed in battle. He even pleaded with his warlord to treat his son gently in battle. That is the way in which God loves us and especially children who are innocent of adults’ sinful mind. It was Jesus Christ that raised the horn of Virgin Mary, otherwise, she would have blossomed and florished in the vast desert of life without any mention of her in the Jewish tradition. Therefore, parents train your dhildren in the way of the Lord so that when they grow old they will not caause you (parents) any trouble. Proverb 22: 6 is very relevant. Love begets love.