The Joy of the Journey
The Heart of God
This past Saturday, I had the joy of sharing the story of Jesus at our church’s annual Kids Conference, themed “Jesus is my Superhero.” It was a refreshing reminder of how renewing it is to be with children. To be around such joy, honesty, and simple, sincere faith can truly lift your heart. While they may not use theological language, they often understand and trust in God more naturally than we do. Why is this? I think it’s because children simply believe.
When you tell them Jesus loves them, they believe it. When you tell them God hears their prayers, they pray. When you tell them Jesus is with them, their faces light up with confidence. Their faith reflects a purity that helps us understand why Jesus so often pointed adults toward children. In Mark 10:14, when the disciples tried to keep children away, Jesus said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” I love that picture.
Jesus was never too busy for children. Crowds surrounded Him, adults had questions, leaders demanded answers, and people needed healing. Yet He always made room for children. Mark 10:16 continues, “And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” That reveals the heart of God. God has a heart for children.
At times, the church can become so adult-focused that children’s ministry feels secondary. But children’s ministry is real ministry. Every song they sing, verse they memorize, lesson they hear, and act of love they experience plants seeds that can shape their entire lives.
Jesus even used a child to teach a profound truth about the Kingdom. In Matthew 18:3, He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus wasn’t calling us to be childish, but childlike. There is a difference. To become childlike in coming to Jesus means returning to a place of simple surrender and trust. It means we come to Him without pretense, without trying to impress, and without needing to have everything figured out first. It is the posture of a heart that says, “I need You, and I trust You.”
It means we stop approaching God like we have to earn our way into His presence, and instead we come like a child who knows they are already loved. It is honest prayer sometimes full of words, sometimes only tears, sometimes just a quiet reaching out of the heart.
It is dependence. A child does not carry the weight of self-sufficiency; they reach for a hand they trust. In the same way, coming to Jesus as a child means releasing control and placingour lives into His care, believing He is good even when we do not understand.
It is also humility. Children are not concerned with status or appearance. They simply come. To be childlike before Jesus is to lay down pride and come as we are to him…needy, open, and willing to be led.
Watching our children at Kids Conference reminded me how we should approach God, with pure hearts, seeking only His presence. Psalm 127:3 calls children a heritage from the Lord. Children the church of tomorrow; they are the church today. A church without children is a dying church.
We may never fully grasp the long-term impact of investing in them. A boy learning a Bible story today could preach the Gospel tomorrow. A worshiping girl may lead thousands in praise, and a child memorizing Scripture may draw on that truth in a future storm. As Jesus commanded in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” So, let’s keep investing in our kids, guarding their faith, and clearing every obstacle out of their way. When we champion the children in our midst, we aren’t just building the future; we are honoring God’s heart.
