Is there a child in this world who is not important? All children are precious. Most parents would trade their own lives for them. That is why the Lord said that even the wicked know what is good for their children. But are these children precious to God? Yes, they are. Every child on earth is precious to God.
First, children were created by God and sent to earth by God Himself. The most mysterious of God’s creations is man. The human body is amazing. God created man in His image, the only creature with a personality and the ability to communicate with one another and God. King David reflected on this when he wrote, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Just as a woman knits stitch by stitch to create a beautiful garment for her beloved, so God mysteriously creates each child in the womb and brings that baby into the world. He made you with unimaginable wisdom and power. Everything about our bodies is a mystery. Every part has a role and works together to make a miracle. Our appearance, character, temperament and talents are innate. Each person is uniquely made, just as each person’s fingerprints are unique. After God created man, He saw that it was very good. Every child on the planet is precious to God.
Second, God has an amazing plan for every child. Not one is born by accident. Children are so precious to God that He sends them into this world in His perfect timing and into families of His choosing. David reveals this mystery when he says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:16-17). The apostle Paul wrote, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). The fact that God Almighty knows every child and has great plans for them shows how much God values children. Therefore, the mission of parents is to do everything in their power to help their children fulfill the will of God.
Third, God wants His Kingdom to be inherited and the knowledge of Him to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). He desires children to put faith in Christ and become heirs of the Kingdom of God. To this end, before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, God told them three times to teach their children about God and His Word so “that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess” (Deuteronomy 31:13). Psalm 78:5-6 tells us God commanded them “… to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,” so those yet unborn may know God’s laws and continue the line of faith.
Children are so precious to God. Throughout history, there have been events that seemed to lead to a breakdown of the faith, but like a shoot from the root, God allowed the next generation to rise up and continue the line of faith, demonstrating the greatness of God. Proverbs 22:6 tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Jesus showed his disciples the heart of the Heavenly Father for children when He said, “So it is not the will of my Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14). A few days after that, when His disciples were rebuking those who brought children to Him, Jesus spoke in one of the strongest tones in the New Testament. He said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14). The Bible tells us Jesus strongly rebuked His disciples and then took the children in His arms and blessed them.
The Lord spoke of how we should value children in an unconventional way. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Matthew 18:5). Jesus treated children as VIPs, telling us to value and receive them as we value and receive Jesus.
Children are precious to God. He sent them to earth in His time, in His appointed place, through the person He wanted, for a special plan. Our job is to make this precious fact known.
Jeremiah Cho is the President of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), the largest child evangelism ministry in the world, and has served with the ministry since 1988 in various roles. He first served from his home country of South Korea and then as a missionary in Sri Lanka. Now, he leads from CEF’s headquarters in Missouri.