Musing - How can we help Young Children to know God?

 Hebraic Musing - How can we help Young Children to know God?

My salvation testimony started at age 6 when I started first grade in a Catholic School; I proficiencied kindergarten!  (>:     The first lesson in the Blue Baltimore Catechism* consisted of three questions and answers; and these are the Q & A’a still locked into my memory to this day.
 - Q. Who made me?               A. God made me.
 - Q. Who is God?                  A. God is a supreme being, creator of all things.
 - Q. Why did God make me? A. God created me to worship and praise him forever.

I never forgot those questions and the answers.  They were instrumental in drawing me to Jesus 33 years later! 

Why can’t this simple teaching be taught to children as soon as they can comprehend?

And the most relevant Biblical reference is the account of Jesus Blessing Little Children! “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:13-14 NKJV   This was just after Jesus had said “… it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” In vs. 18:14

And in Luke 18:16-17 Jesus told the adults, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”   Did Jesus just say to us that we need to have “child-like” faith?!?!

Since we’re talking about children getting to know God, and then Jesus, what does the Bible say about the salvation of souls of children below the age of accountability?  And for that matter, the salvation/souls of persons in a foreign land who do not hear the name of “Jesus”?

What did God say to the people when Joshua was to lead them into their Promised Land?  “Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.” Deuteronomy 1:39   God recognized they “have no knowledge of good and evil”.    Hmm…yet they shall inherit the “Promised Land”!

Remember when King David was mourning the sickness of his child?  What did he say when he found out the child died?  “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?  But now he is dead; why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.’” 2 Samuel 12:23 NKJV

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 NKJV

And one more verse to consider.  “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” Romans 1:20 NKJV   Can Almighty God be recognized in creation?

Points to ponder

At what age might children start thinking about the three Q & A’s above?

Might sharing these three Q & A’s open the minds of young children?

At what age or situation did you start thinking about God?

♫  Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Red, and yellow, black, and white,
            They are precious in His sight.  Jesus loves the little children of the world. ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   October 8, 2024
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

* Baltimore Catechism - Lesson One --- THE END OF MAN

1. Q. Who made the world?
           A. God made the world.

2. Q. Who is God?
            A. God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

3. Q. What is man?
            A. Man is a creature composed of body and soul and made to the image and likeness of God.

6. Q. Why did God make you?
            A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.

9. Q. What must we do to save our souls?
            A. To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.

10. Q. How shall we know the things which we are to believe?
            A. We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church, through which God speaks to us.

11. Q. Where shall we find the chief truths which the Church teaches?
            A. We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the Apostles' Creed.

12. Q. Say the Apostles' Creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
   born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
   from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
   the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.