Yes, Jesus Loves Me

OT Lesson: Proverbs 22:1-6 (CEB)

A good reputation is better than much wealth;
high esteem is better than silver and gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord made them both.
Prudent people see trouble and hide,
while the simple-minded go right to it and get punished.
The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
is wealth, honour, and life.
Thorns and nets are in the path of the crooked;
those who guard their lives keep their distance.
Train children in the way they should go;
when they grow old, they won’t depart from it.

NT Lesson: Matthew 19:13-15 (NRSV)

Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

Sermon

Introduction

Good morning. This is another good day, and it is a wonderful worship service with lovely children. Many of you know me, but some of you might think ‘Who the heck is that guy up there?’ For those people: I am pastor Je here at the First Presbyterian Church in Lebanon. I was born and raised in South Korea, which means I did not spend my youth in this country. And thus, there are tons of things I do not know or I do not understand when it comes to American culture. So you are always welcome to teach me. Recently I learned that some American jokes have typical structures. For example, knock-knock jokes always begin the same way. The other thing is good news-bad news jokes. A few days ago I heard this one: A guy had a leg infection and had to amputate his leg. After the surgery, the doctor came and told him: “I have good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear?” The guy chose good news first. Then the doctor said, “The good news is that the surgery was very successful without any possible side effect. The bad news is that we performed the surgery on the wrong leg.” The reason I am telling you this is because I also have good news and bad news. Don’t worry. It is not as dramatic as in the joke. So which one do you want to hear first? The good news is that the East road is newly paved, nice and clean, free from potholes. I used to live in Canada, and the Canadians jokingly say that ‘In England, they drive on left. In Canada, we drive on what’s left.’ So it is lovely to have the new pavement without potholes. The bad news is that the Folders coffee ran out and we now have only McDonald’s coffee at church. I am sorry about that. But when the McDonald’s coffee is over—I tried yesterday and it is not good, we will have Honduras Jose Vanilla Mango coffee from Tipico Coffee, which is a premium coffee store in Buffalo, NY. When you go to the Niagara Falls, you should visit Tipico coffee sotre. So in the ned, it is a happy ending.

PPM Sunday

Today is the PPM Sunday, and today’s focus and footlights are on our wonderful children, not on me. Children are precious. I mean all the children in the whole world are precious of course. But to you, your own child is the most precious. Children come with price, and sometimes they embarrass their parents. I also have a preschool age son—four years and three quarters. I am an introvert, believe it or not. My wife is also an introvert which is obvious. But my son is not at all. I have no idea from where his personality came. A few days ago, after supper I took him to Walmart. I had car windows down and open because it was a warm and nice day. Lots of people came out from El Meson and Buffet King after dining. Samuel was so excited about going to Walmart, so he shouted at the people in the parking lot, “Hello people! Hi everybody! I AM GOING to WALMART!” I was so embarrassed and was like, ‘Please be quiet. It’s not like we are going to Prada or Chanel.’ I guess being embarrassed from time to time is one of the prices to pay for the parents. And yet they are always forgiven because they are cute and precious to their parents. PPM parents entrusted their most precious children to us. And I believe that is a good choice because PPM director, staff members and teachers are doing their best to take good care of your children.

God Values Education

Throughout Old and New Testaments, God valued the education of the young children very much, and thus one of the core values of Presbyterianism is education. John Calvin, who laid the foundation of the Presbyterianism five hundred years ago, actually built a school which is still functioning and educating young students today in Geneva, Switzerland. A twist is that he also built a prison right next to the school, and gave the teachers the power and authority to send any misbehaving children to the prison up to, if I remember correctly, five days for educational purpose. But don’t worry. We do not send your child to the County Jail. If you need to imprison your child for any reason, you need to talk to the sheriff.

Moses led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt, which we call the exodus, and spent forty years in the desert. Then the new leader, Joshua, brought the people to the promised land by crossing the overflowing Jordan river. God stopped the flow of the river, and the water was stacking on the side like a wall. Then God commanded the Israelites to take twelve boulders—not small pebbles but huge rocks, one for each tribe, and carry them everywhere for no practical reason. It was purely educational purpose. Several guys carrying a huge boulder for no reason looks weird and funny. Then the children will ask why, because that is what they always do. God commanded the Israelites to educate the young children the history by answering their questions. Bible shows us many instances which God values the education. Today’s OT lesson is also one of the precious and valuable lessons to teach our children. God says, “Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it.” If we teach and train our children to be honourable, respectable, prudent, wise and to well behave, then they will be for the rest of their life. On the other hand, if we neglect educating and training our children, then they will be reckless, unwise, ruthless, uneducated, unlearned, and ungodly.

Let Them Come

Then how can we train our children in the ways of God? The very first and most important thing you can do is to send your child to the Presbyterian Preschool, which you already did. That is a great start. Jesus says to let the little children come. I’d love to take all the little children in town to our PPM if possible. But we do not have unlimited space and resources. And we can only take certain number of children into our preschool. But within our ability and capacity, I believe, the PPM welcomes and loves our and your children. But sending your child to PPM is not enough. The PPM and the parents must be paired and working together in teaching our children the godly ways. You need to love your child at home. You need to read the Bible together at home. There are children’s story Bible. And you also bring your child to church on Sundays like you do today. Just in case if you don’t have a church home, this door is always open on Sundays for you and your children. Good and faithful parenting is not an easy task. This church and PPM are here to work together with you.

We Are the Children

But when it comes to the parenting, there are actually not many things I can say or preach. First of all, you are better and more experienced parents than I am. So you know better than I do. Second of all, I learned my parenting in Korea. So the parenting styles and cultures are very different, I assume. So I cannot really teach you the parenting skills. Maybe you guys should teach me. But I’d like to remind you this one thing that you and I are also the children in God’s eyes. We are the sons and daughters of God. So when we sing or say that Jesus loves the little children, we must know that includes us. When Jesus says ‘let the little children come to me,’ Jesus is also telling us to come to Him—“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest.” And I know from my own experience that all the parents are weary and burdened day by day. So let us come to Jesus who gives us rest.

When you see your child, you feel something. According to the occasions, time, and situations, you feel different emotions. Sometimes love, sometimes embarrassment, sometimes anger, sometimes sadness, sometimes wonder, sometimes happiness. They make us laugh. They make us shed tears. They make us sigh. They make us smile. So many different emotions we have toward them. And these are the exact emotions God has toward us because God is our Father just as we are the parents of our children. 

God Wants Us to Grow

Because we are the children and God is our Father, God wants us basically to be happy and to have a good life. You all want your children to be happy and to have better life than yours, right? But there is one more thing which God wants from us. God wants us to grow. As you know growing is not limited to the physical body measurements like heights, weights and BMI. Growing means getting better and mature in knowledge, wisdom, attitude, behaviour, personality, social skills, and in character.

Let’s imagine that your son is one year old and wearing diapers. That is fine and you are happy with that. Now let’s imagine that your son is ten and still needs diapers. Would you be happy with that? Again, let us imagine that your son is now thirty years old. He from time to time throws tantrums at Walmart, rolling on the floor, screaming and asking for a toy. How would you feel? It must be terrible. How many years have you been a Christian? Probably more than a few decades. Let us reflect today and ponder how much our spirituality and faith are mature. Sometimes we still act childish in our spiritual life and in our relationship with God. Apostle Paul says in his epistle to the church in Corinth, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child. But now that I have become a man, I’ve put an end to childish things.”

Conclusion

Friends, Jesus loves the little children. As much as Jesus loves our children, so much Jesus loves us as well. Because God is our Father and we are His children, God wants us to be well and happy. But at the same time, God wants us to grow in spirit, in faith, in wisdom, and in character. If our faith and spirituality were childish, let us grow up and put an end to our childish things. And from time to time, let us make our Father in heaven laugh and smile because of us. Then surely God will keep His promise to us that He will love and bless us, our children, and our descendants up to thousandth generation. Amen.