This week we've been embarking on a bit of a spiritual adventure with our children. Our church has just recently decided to come alongside many other Reformed churches and begin to invite our children, who are of an age to understand Jesus' love for them and what Communion means, to partake in Communion before they make their Profession of Faith.
This issue has always rankled me a bit, from when I was very young and attending a CRC church that was very strict about Profession of Faith and Communion. It was a rule at that church that you couldn't take Communion until you had made Profession of Faith, and you couldn't make Profession of Faith until you were 16. I can remember as a small child grating against the unfairness of that rule, and wondering, 'what if I want to make Profession of Faith before I'm 16?'
Well, we had just been thinking ourselves that our children seemed to grasp what Communion was about, and they've known for a long time how much Jesus loves them, and they love to learn about him. The excitement in their voices as they talk about the stories from the Bible they've learned is captivating and humbling.
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3
So we knew. We knew they were thinking about communion and whether they could take it, but we did not know our church's rules off hand about at what age you could participate. It turns out that it was, until very recently, that you could not participate unless you had made your Profession.
This has changed. And as soon as our church offered the workshop to teach children about the meaning of Communion we signed our kids up. And watching them grasp and understand the deep meanings of Christ's body and blood in their own simple, innocent way was a profound blessing to me. I find myself looking at them and just thanking God that he's given me these three wonderful children, that I may learn again what it is like to have that childlike faith.
So they have been to meet with an elder, who confirmed that they were indeed grasping the truths of partaking in the remembering of what Christ means to us. Unfortunately we will not be in town for the first communion they could be a part of! We are all a bit bummed by this, but we were told there would be another around Christmas time.
I am so grateful for the blessing of my children. So very grateful. And also for this opportunity to be reminded what a blessing they truly are.
1 comment:
Our church has been inviting children to communion for almost a year, I think, as part of the rule change. What a neat opportunity to start involving your kids in communion as soon as they begin to honestly wonder and know about it.
Post a Comment