Children of this world are highly valued, they are our future, our hopes and our descendants. They’re the ones who will carry our faith through generations. For this, we need to give them credit. We often think of them as minors, and hardly listen to what they say; this shows that we're the ones who don’t show what's it's like to be a true Christian disciple.
Children are seen as innocent, vulnerable and dependent. This is natural because they are newcomers to our world. This makes them curious and somehow to think simply. However, they also show imagination in their activities as well as the willingness to learn in various environments. This is the start on the right path to discipleship. They , unlike adults, have more potential of becoming a good disciple rather than the rest of us.
Jesus said in (Mark 10: 13-16)- " Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Here, he means that children are more likely to enter the Kingdom rather than adults. This is because a child would welcome it care-freely whereas an adult has too many worries, temptations, and commitments to even look twice at a Bible.
A child is more inviting and welcoming like a true disciple. They are full of love and trust and are very caring. They're also very dependant, so instead of saying that they can't be disciples nor Christians, we should encourage them towards the true path instead of putting them down and leaving them apart. They are humans after all just like the rest of us, they need to be looked after properly.
However, I also believe that children, although they seem the perfect candidates for discipleship, I do not think they're quite ready to make full commitments. They wouldn't know what they were in for, they couldn't possibly understand the sufferings, joys and rewards of discipleship. Their minds are not fully knowledgeable in this department, they would need to grow up therefore broadening their views and feelings on this subject. They would be too young to accept and take in all the factors which face discipleship.
Also, they wouldn’t be able to put discipleship into practise, they're not eligible enough to follow the ten commandments. The child wouldn’t know what s/he would be sacrificing themselves for by doing as the rules say.
They, in my opinion, don’t have many life experiences to learn from, the sins and mistakes they've made in the past, wouldn’t help them to become better people; not at their age. They would be too care-free to give a second thought about what they did wrong.
Another thing, is the effort, children don’t seem to know how much faith, obedience and humility to put in when you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus to become a true Christian disciple.
So therefore, in conclusion, I both agree and disagree at the same time, with the statement because I believe the first part is true, "Children cannot be disciples", but the second part- " so they cannot be Christians either." This part I think, is simply unjust.
Children can be disciples if they wish to, but it depends on their type of morality; however this doesn’t mean that they cant be Christians. Everyone, no matter what age, race, or gender, can be a Christian in the eyes of God.
