Children partake of Communion for the first time today!
Two of our younger children received communion for the first time in their lives at our gathering today. They have been watching their parents take communion and Levi (the oldest) asked daddy to explain why we do this. This may have never happened -had they not been in worship as a family! Daddy, "What does the bread represent?" Daddy, "What does the juice or the cup represent?" These children, who are in the gathering/worship time wanted to experience what they witnessed their parents experiencing. Levi told his dad, "I have accepted Jesus, why can't I have communion?" Dad explained it! Today, Levi and his brother took their first communion because they had accepted Jesus into their hearts and because they understand what communion means.
Questions on my mind:
When are children like Levi and his brother ever allowed to accept/partake of communion?
How many children actually have their father (who knows Jesus) teach them from God's Word the meaning and significance of communion?
Why do you think these children (Levi and his brother) wanted to know about the meaning and significance of communion?
Had these children not been in the worship gathering where communion is shared and meaningful, would they ever have communion and if they do, at what age? Some young people never have communion because they are segregated from their parents and from worship services because they have their own classes to attend? SARCASM: We can't have children interrupting our worship, so we say and think.
I am left to ponder, how many years does it take for a child to accept Jesus and then remember his sacrifice by partaking of communion? Isn't this really what discipleship is all about?
posted by Bob Carder @ 11:33 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
If the child is baptised he or she must be allowed to partake of communion. One would not birth a baby and then not feed the child. Likewise, through the gift of baptism God's people are feed. If the child is not baptised it becomes the call of the family and the church as to allow or not. I love seeing kids in communion. I enjoy the simple joy they seem to get. I have never see a child look at his or her watch wondering when it was going to be over so they could rush to "beat the Baptists" (or Methodists, or MCUSA or whatever) to the restaurant. As long as the communion is done with reverance and authenticity it matters not to me who comes to take and eat this is my body broken for the forgiveness of sins, take drink, this is my blood poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. AMEN
OOPS....through the gift of communion (not baptism, in baptism we experince symbolic death and birth) we are feed.
It is very important to note that some children are never exposed to communion because they are carted off to other parts of the campus or church building. The kids do their stuff while the parents do theirs.
Imagine being a teen before ever seeing,understanding or experiencing communion. I also believe that when a child makes a profession of faith they should be invited to partake of communion upon being able to articulate the meaning of communion.
When we gather with our entire Church family for worship and communion the children become very respectful and reverent and that tells me they understand more than we give them credit for. When we sing the children are glued to front, and, as I held a little guy yesterday he sang with me,"Our Lord is our God."
The children need to be with the family in worship settings and when they are not present with the family they end up with family worship, communion, songs, hearing expressions of praise all absent from their lives.
Why would we ever deprive our children from this wonderful spiritual formation in their lives?
At the Anglican Church here in Nicosia, the children are brought in from Sunday school to their parents just before communion so that the family can take it together.
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