Children can experience God now - parents need to look for that and name it

Sometimes, as Christian parents, we can be so obsessed about our children’s future that we miss what God is doing in the present - Robin Barfield explains

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Have you ever asked your children this? I have, and I often receive funny answers in response. Growing up, I wanted to be a cement mixer lorry driver. The thought of driving around in a big truck that mixes concrete was a 5-year-old boy’s dream! If you are anything like me, and you may not be, you spend time wondering what a child will be like as an adult. We look forward to imagining what the Lord may have in store for them and how they might use the gifts he has given them.

The danger here is that we lose sight of who the child is now and what they are capable of in the present

The danger here is that we lose sight of who the child is now and what they are capable of in the present. We only see their potential, and potential can be a perilous thing. Perhaps we think this way about the child’s potential to encounter God. Of course, it is unlikely we would say that they cannot experience God’s love in Jesus just because they are too young. But I wonder if we often behave that way.

We may have different theologies on baptism and whether it is appropriate only to baptise professing believers over the age of 12. We may also have different understandings of what it looks like for a child to be a Christian. However, I would be surprised if you claimed that ……