Jesus loves me, this I know, for The Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong. We are weak but He is strong. 1
Ahhhh…
Jesus and children. In your mind, what images does this bring?
Passionate, heart-warming moments? Deaths of Egyptian first-borns?
‘Let the little ones come to Me’? Or babes from mothers’ wombs torn?
As a child, with others, the above song I would often sing.
But as an adult who’s well-versed in The Bible’s messages,
I know Jesus sponsored each of the above scenarios,
In them all He was present, in person or incognito.
What’s left in or cut out of your …Jesus-children montages? 2
To Jonah, He cited the children among His reasons,
To have Mercy on that ole wicked city of Nineveh.
But in a corrupt church, killing kids was on His agenda! 3
So what about children in the pending tribulation??
In the 3rd-age rapture of saints, both living and dead,
Without regard for their parents’ spirituality,
Might children, under His ‘age of accountability’,
Also be caught-up on the cloud, and to Heaven, be sped?? 4
Only Heaven knows the answer to this question, so piercing.
Perhaps the book in Heaven called, The Scripture of Truth,
Answers questions about all …unaccountable youth,
Whose parents, in tribulation plagues, at Christ will be seething. 5
But about His answer, He’s given us a really BIG clue!
This is what He says, ‘I am The Lord Who searches minds and hearts,
To give to each one according to what’s in …these hidden parts.’ 6
What parents say and do, impact what children’s
…hearts and minds brew!!!
So parents, at His Word, I pray you will take earnest heed,
And to what takes root in your inner parts, be attentive.
May you let that become a significant incentive,
In case one day, a cloud-ride to Glory, …your kids may need.
Because this issue has quite a long-term implication,
Lend me your imagination for a bit while longer,
To envision three more points about which we might ponder:
--To what growth stage might children rise in their incarnation??
--What might eternity be like for all of those children,
Who, upon disembarking the cloud-ride to Glory,
Learn their parents won’t share their eternity story,
Having thought The Lord’s heart-mind tests were
…too great a burden??
--Reversing this picture: How might it be for raptured parents,
To learn their ‘very good [adult] children’ failed The Lord’s heart-mind tests,
Though, for these children, parents prayed so much,
and gave their best,
But as devils’ agents they lived, and applied their life talents??
To these potent questions, I have no Bible clues,
It does give us, however, one clear repercussion:
For the dreadful, blockbuster, final resurrection,
Most folks must wait, having fallen for …satan’s ruse. 7
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1 A well-known children’s Christian song written by Anna Bartlett Warner
2 It is safe to presume some of the first born children who were killed in the final plague on Egypt were mere children. For other examples of The Lord’s protective vs. non-protective regard for children, see: Exodus 11 and 12, Isaiah 13:16 and 47:9, Daniel 6:24, Ezekiel 6:5 and 9:6, Jonah 4:11, Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:16. Please see: Truths, Though Inconvenient (Poem)
3 See: Revelation 2:4, The Lord’s post-resurrection letter to the corrupt church at Thyatira. See also: Laodicean Lackadaisicalness - Part 1 to understand the broader context of this letter. Might it also apply to some Christians today, as His letter to the church at Laodicea appears to apply? (See: Revelation 3:14-22 and Christianesque (Poem))
4 The age of accountability is believed to be the age at which a child is spiritually accountable to understand good from evil, and therefore be responsible for his/her words and actions. This clearly is child-specific. See: What is the age of accountability? Can you imagine children of non-Christian parents being caught-up in the rapture with tested, tried and proven saints of God?? I can, thanks to The AMAZING Grace of our Lord! See: An Unpredicted Tribulation Age Precursor (Poem).
5 See: Heaven's Animating Holy Scripts (Poem)
6 See: Psalm 7:9, Jeremiah 17:10 and Revelation 2:23, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27. In consistency with The Lord’s guideline to let every significant point be confirmed by two or three witnesses, it is interesting to note the first three references confirm His heart and mind testing policy; and the last three references confirm how we can …pass his tests!
7 See: Salvation in The Millennium (Series). It seems plausible that people born during The Millennial Reign might not die until they are tempted by satan after The Millennial Reign. This raises the prospects of (a) very lengthy life spans, per Isaiah 65:20, plus (b) the possibility that some will embrace salvation at that time, as inferred in Revelation 20:12 &15. If so, then not all who are featured in the final resurrection (pre-White Throne Judgment) will necessarily be sinners, doomed for hell. Some saints will be there, too! Otherwise, why would The Lord consult His Book of [Eternal] Life, per Revelation 20:12? Worth pondering? Indeed!!!
