by Timothy Yoon
This past Christmas I was gifted a copy of Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. In its beginning chapters, he gives the reader an autobiographical narrative of his childhood, undergraduate, and seminary years. Piper stresses the influence of various Christian authors during his adulthood, but we should realize that earlier experiences in his childhood also played an important role for him spiritually. These influences came in such forms as a wall placard that displayed the words of the British missionary C.T. Studd, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last,” as well as from his parents: his father was a traveling preacher with gripping stories of conversion, and his mother as the embodiment of a woman after God’s own heart. [1] If we step back and look at the general course of Piper’s life, we see the fulfillment of a truth that many parents are familiar with:
“Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
What exactly is the way in which a child should go? How can we ensure that the lives of our children are not a waste in the sight of God, but pleasing to Him? The answer in Scripture is clear: They must be brought up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4) so that they may be men and women who love Him with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). In every child there ought to be kindled a great, fervent passion to exalt God by enjoying and displaying His excellence in all areas of life.
Why, some of you may ask, is the importance of children knowing the Lord, even from childhood onwards, stressed so highly? Charles Spurgeon gives multiple reasons in a sermon titled “The Best Burden for Young Shoulders.” He preaches on Lamentations 3:27—”It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke in his youth.” A blessing of dedicating one’s life to Christ early on is:
“There is this goodness about it yet further, that it enables one to be well established in divine things. “They that are planted in the courts of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” A tree transplanted takes a certain time to root, but when it becomes well established it produces abundant fruit. There must be time for striking root in divine things; everything in the kingdom of grace is not to be learned in 10 minutes. I bless God that a man who has believed in Jesus only one second is a saved man; but he is not an instructed man; he is not an established man. He is not trained for battle; nor tutored for labor. These things take time. When we are converted, we go to Christ’s school; we sit at His feet and learn of Him. Now, who is the best scholar? All other things being equal, I should expect to find the best scholars in school to be those who come early. Eleven o’clock scholars do not learn much; evening scholars, with a good master and great diligence, may pick up something, but scarcely so much as those who have been at the school all day! Oh, how blessed it is to begin to know Christ very early, because then you can go on comprehending with all the saints the heights and depths of that which surpasses knowledge. No fear that you will ever exhaust this knowledge. It is so infinitely great and blessed that if we lived 7,000 years in the world, there would still be more to know of Christ, and we would still have to say, “Oh, the depths.” We need not be afraid, therefore, if we are converted when we are 10, or 15, or 20 years of age, we shall live to wear out the freshness of religion. Ah, no, we shall love it more and understand it better, and by God’s grace practice it more fully as the years roll over us! Therefore it is good to begin soon.” [2]
Fully recognizing the primary responsibility of the parents in raising their children in biblical discipline and instruction, we in the Sonlight staff seek to first and foremost assist the parents in helping the children come to know and love God from a young age. We do this mainly through teaching and setting the foundation of a right understanding of the Bible and of a Christian worldview, as was outlined by Jeff in his article “Two Objectives of Children’s Ministry.” In the Old Testament, for example, we have plenty of opportunities of showing the sinfulness of the human heart and the hope we have in the death and resurrection of Christ. In recent weeks, the children were taught the account of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21. In response to the Israelites’ complaining hearts, God punished them by sending “fiery serpents” but also provided a means of physical salvation through the bronze serpent, at which if any person looked, he or she was saved. This incident, as Christ Himself explains in John 3:14–15, is analogous to His own death. If any child would see his or her impending physical and spiritual death and look upon Christ in true repentance and faith, that child would most certainly be saved.
May we take all opportunities that the Lord puts in our way to point the children to Christ, whether it be through the beauty of a flower at the park, a severe chastisement after continued disobedience, or even the funeral of a beloved family member or friend. In 1755, Jonathan Edward wrote a letter to his ten-year-old son Jonathan Jr., whose playmate had recently died. The father wrote, “This is a loud call of God to you to prepare for death . . . Never give yourself any rest, unless you have good evidence that you are converted and become a new creature.” [3] I pray that all of us, whether parents, staff, or fellow members of the body of Christ, would emulate such love and concern for the children, caring most for the glory of God in the redemption of their souls.
[1] Piper, John. Don’t Waste Your Life. Crossway, 2003.
[2] Ministries, Eternal Life. “The Best Burden for Young Shoulders.” Spurgeon Gems – C. H. Spurgeon Sermons & Other Resources, www.spurgeongems.org/ (emphasis mine).
[3] Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. Yale University Press, 2003.