Jesus said: ‘Let the children come to me’

On this Christmas day let us especially reflect on Jesus’ attitude to and his invaluable teaching about children. Today, millions of children in the world are at risk. In the massacre in a school in Pakistan on December 16 the entire world witnessed one of the most horrible instances of children being at risk. This took place in a country which is the homeland of the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, who herself is merely a teen-ager.

The Holy Bible teaches that children are the greatest gifts of God to parents. “Children are a heritage from the Lord. They are a reward from Him” (Psalms 127). To quote from Matthew: “Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.” Jesus said: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Christ’s coming into the world through the process of real human birth reveals his identification with humanity even from his birth as a baby. He was born as a helpless infant in a manger; he had to flee to Egypt with his earthly parents as a refugee for the sake of his life as king Herod wanted to slaughter all children in his domain under the age of two years. That God’s Son could be born of a woman is a clear proof of how loving and caring is God for man, of how He cares for children. We can understand the truth of God’s nearness to us by meditating upon Christ’s birth, his infancy. He was a little babe before he was a man. There are many pictures of Jesus as an infant, resting sweetly in his mother’s lap, which are impeccably beautiful. There appears to be an affinity between childhood and the divine being. Each child is created in God’s holy image -- irrespective of gender, status, religion, race and culture and clime.

Today, nearly 1.2 billion people are under the age of fifteen. Over 20,000 children under the age of five die every day from diseases and causes that are not unpreventable. Millions suffer from poverty, malnutrition, war and conflict, and other miseries. At least 100 million children and youths live on the streets and around 10 millions are victims of sex trade globally. The greatest stewardship question revolves around human life, especially the lives of children. Jesus Christ gave central importance to children. One of our worst problems that lamentably persist in our society is the problem of child-labour. This is abuse, wastage and rotting away of this greatest of gifts. We fail in the stewardship mandate with regard to our children.

The problem must be considered in the greater context of a society as a whole. The responsibility is not only parental, but also societal and governmental. According to Bangladesh National Child Policy persons under the age of 18 are to be considered as children. Children do not decide to be born, but their parents decide their births. So the responsibility of faithful stewardship of bringing their children lies with them.

Jesus did not come to the world to explain how the universe came into being, nor did he come to propound any philosophy. He came to reconcile man with God through a spiritual and moral relationship that is innocent, pure and impeccable -- the attributes of children. The Spirit took the form of matter; God’s eternal Word, Mind and His Reason put on the garb of human flesh in the incarnation of Christ. His humanity was so real, he was so truly formed as a man that he suffered on account of human waywardness and sins. He had to be born as the babe and eventually suffer the evils that were inflicted upon him by sinful men. But we come to him as he is the point of meeting between God and Man. The Bible exhorts and challenges us to love and respect children and take care of their needs that are different from that of the adults. Each family and society must seek to address the peculiar needs and the problems of the innocent children and seek to find proper and adequate solutions thereof.

Because of human sins of pride and greed the world remains and continues to be violent. Today, many children will celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus amidst violent circumstances. Our prayers are that people will really learn to live in peace and harmony. No amount of human civilisation, nothing of its scientific and technological advancements and adjuncts, human arts and culture will guarantee lasting peace and progress so long as our children continue to remain at risk. As we celebrate one more Christmas we meditate on the baby Jesus. Let us concern ourselves more and more with the lives of our children, the children whom Jesus loves and blesses.

The writer is Principal of College of Christian Theology Bangladesh and a Christian leader.