In the few short years that we have for raising and training our children, we’re busy with teaching manners, life skills and how to become contributing members of our societies. While these responsibilities alone keep us busy with our little ones, have we taken the time to stop and wonder if God uses children?
Maybe some of us are doing all we can to instill values into their precious hearts, but don’t realize that a child doesn’t have to become an adult before God can use them. Or possibly, we just hadn’t thought about it.
God doesn’t see things the same way we do. We may think He wants them to be perfected in their knowledge of Him first, or that they’re not old enough to talk about the things of God without our help. But is it so?
The Bible has given us several examples of children that were used in big and small ways. A child might not be able to preach a sermon, but they can certainly express their love for Jesus when He is touching their tender hearts!
Consider the little girl in 2 Kings 5:1-14. She was stolen from her family to be a helper for Naaman’s wife. Naaman was the commander of an army, and he also had leprosy. Although the Bible doesn’t tell us how old the maiden girl was, the Bible does tell us she is little. This little girl was stolen from the land of Israel.
Even when she could have been scared, resentful, and timid, she wasn’t afraid to speak about her God and His ability to heal. Was it childlike faith only? Or had she heard her family talk about their great and mighty God who heals? Whatever the case, this little girl was the reason a great man with leprosy was healed.
We can also look to at a young boy in John 6:1-14. He was in the large crowd that was following after Jesus. He happened to have his lunch with him, but the rest of the crowd did not, and they needed to eat. The lad didn’t have enough food to offer the entire crowd, but he gave what he had to the Master, and the crowd left full. That crowd of over 5,000 people partook in a miracle because of a child.
Did the boy think Jesus would perform a miracle, or did the boy just want to do what little bit he could because of his tender heart? We don’t know, but we do know that God used a child that impacted over 5,000 souls.
There are several other examples that we could mention, including a girl named Esther who helped save an entire race of people, Mary, who was the young woman God chose to be the mother of Jesus, and even Jesus Himself, who was teaching in the temple when He was only 12.
Let’s set aside our worries that children are not capable of being used by God. Your donations to the Camarao Shekinah Foundation help us to reach them and teach them about Jesus. May our encouragement to them help all of us to see Jesus more and more.
