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Children in the Church

What I want to do in this article is briefly discuss the place of children in the church. In other words, how does God view our children? Are they pagans? Christians? Or something else? To begin, I want to clarify that when I speak of children, I am talking about the children of believers. Where do they stand before God? What I want to argue for in this article is that our children belong to God, members of the covenant. This is an important issue because it has huge practical implications for the church. I will not attempt an exegetical dissection of a passage, rather, I would simply like to offer some theological reflections about the place of baptized children in relation to the covenant. Although this is not an exercise in exegesis, I do have a few passages in mind as I think about this topic (Mark 10:13-16, Acts 2:38-39, Deut 5:8-10). It is clear that the God of the Bible is a covenant making God. And whenever God calls people into covenant with Him, He always includes their children. God promises to be a god to them and to their offspring. In this way, the children are both heirs of the covenant promises and stipulations. Children are real members of the covenant community, set apart from the rest of the pagan world. In fact, Jesus makes this emphatically clear in Mark 10. This is the scene where Jesus sharply rebukes his disciples for hindering children from coming to Him. The reason for His rebuke, Jesus declares, is because "the kingdom of God belongs to such as these". The reason I bring this topic up is because I want to encourage christian parents about the status of their children. Our God looks upon them with favor. We need not seek their conversion as though they are pagans until such a time as they make a profession of faith, but rather, we can be assured, because of God's faithfulness, that they are "christians". It is so easy in our day and age to plant seeds of doubt, sometimes unknowingly, in the minds of our children by our emphasis on professions of faith. Sometimes our children feel left out enough when the tray passes them by. Let us not distance them any farther. Rather, let us place our confidence in the God who has promised to be the God of our children for a thousand generations.

The Lord's Table

"The Lord's Supper is the world in miniature;

it has cosmic significance. Within it we find clues

to the meaning of all creation and all history,

to the nature of God and the nature of man,

to the mystery of the world, which is Christ.

It is not confined to the first day,

for its power fills seven. Though the table

stands at the center, its effects stretch out

to the four corners of the earth."-Peter Leithart

At the present time, my church is looking into the issue of how frequently we should observe the Lord's Table. The current practice of my church is once a month, on the second Sunday. The reason I raised the issue is because I favor a weekly observance of the Lord's supper. What I want to do briefly in this article is to give a couple of reasons supporting weekly communion. First, the Lord's supper is more than a simple memorial reminding us of what the Messiah has done for us. It includes that, but it is more. It belongs solely to the church because it is who we are. In it, we celebrate and we mourn. It is worship reiterated. It is the invisible made visible. It is our faith made tangible. For all these things and more, the supper is for us. Secondly, the Lord's table is a means of grace whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of His mediation. If this be the case that the Lord, through the supper, communicates to us His saving benefits, then wouldn't it make sense to observe the Lord's supper often? If the Lord, through the supper, strengthens our faith, confirms our election, and nurishes our souls, then wouldn't wisdom lead us to conclude that a more regular observance of such a meal is beneficial to the body of Christ?
Some may object by stating that a weekly observance will make the supper "ritualistic", become less special of an occasion, and dull. This is a valid and common objection to weekly communion. But to this point, my reply is that all good things lose its wonder after much exposure, not because those things aren't good enough but because we, the observer, are fallen and we live in a fallen world. Is it not the case that prayer and the word, which are also means of grace, often become dull and ritualistic because we engage it regularly? And yet, we wouldn't think twice about relegating them to a monthly practice.

Is the Bible Unique?

As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is the word of God. But what does it mean for the Bible to be the word of God? To many people, this status given to the Bible entails a couple of misguided assumptions, one of which I would like to deal with in this brief article. This first assumption concerns the uniqueness of the Bible. Some would say that the Bible's uniqueness is a sign of its authenticity as God's word. It is assumed that being God's word, it is unlike any other book in its class. It's set apart from all other human writings. There is nothing in the world like it. But what if the Bible is not as unique as some assume? What if the Bible was not that different from other literary works of its own time? Would it lose its status as God's word, or rather, would it confirm that this is truly what one would expect God's word to be like? I affirm the latter. What I want to point out in this article is that the Bible is not as unique as many have thought ,and that Christians shouldn't be afraid to say so. Within the last 150 years, archeology has discovered ancient texts dating back to the second millennia B.C that contain stories and customs which find similiarities with the biblical accounts. Amongst these stories are an ancient Babylonian creation story and a flood story. How do we as Bible believing christians understand the Bible in light of these findings? Should it baffle us that these other stories predate the writing of scripture? Do we forfeit Scripture's claim to be the word of God? Were the liberals right in saying that the Bible is just another book? To these questions, I give an emphatic "No". For this is precisely what I should expect the Bible to look like. It should be written in the popular styles and genres of its day so that the people can understand it. This is how God reveals himself.

Heaven or New Creation

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,

who thee by faith before the world confessed,

thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;

soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;

sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;

the saints triumphant rise in bright array;

the King of glory passes on his way.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,

through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,

and singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:

Alleluia, Alleluia!

I like this song because it captures the heart of the Christian’s hope and ultimate destiny. Unlike much of contemporary Christian tradition, this hymn embodies an important truth that has been undervalued and often confused with another accepted belief of Christian theology. I am speaking specifically about the church’s teaching on heaven.

“This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue”.
or
“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.”

My criticism of the tradition is not that there is no such place called heaven, but that the church has placed too much emphasis on heaven at the expense of new creation. When one surveys the biblical evidence, the vast amount of support strongly favors the bodily resurrection of all saints and new heavens and new earth as the final hope of the Christian. Heaven, on the other hand, is hardly touched upon in the scriptures. The modern conception of heaven, as a place in the sky by and by where all Christians go after they die, is simply an inaccurate description of what the Bible teaches as the goal of all creation. History is heading towards a climax, but heaven is'n it.

I think there are two reasons for the misconception of heaven as our eternal abode. First is our dualistic view of the world. Many have the idea that somehow the physical is subordinate to the spiritual. And by seeking fulfillment in the spiritual, the physical becomes an obstacle to overcome. The physical is bad and the spiritual is good. This leads to the second reason for our misunderstanding, and that is, an incorrect view of physical creation. God made everything and declared it as good, both physical and spiritual. Though the world has been corrupted by sin, God does not intend to abandon creation by taking everyone He loves up to heaven to live and destroy everything else that’s left behind. But instead, He will redeem all creation. This was the purpose of the resurrection of Christ. Jesus’ resurrection was the first fruits of a new creation.

Heaven is a good place. It is where the Lord dwells. As the apostle says, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”. But it is a temporary dwelling where “all the saints who from their labors rest” are waiting. And they are waiting for “a yet more glorious day” when God, the good creator, makes all things new; including our physical bodies. That is the hope which all creation is groaning for and to which all history is heading. That is where our eyes ought to be directed. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Alleluia! Alleluia!