1. “Bringing the Lord to Children and Children to the Lord.”
There is a famous episode from the Lord’s life recorded in three of the Gospels,
where parents brought children to Him “so that He might touch them.” (Mark
10:13-16) The disciples, as you may recall, rebuked
those parents, apparently thinking that the Lord was
too important to be bothered with children. But the
Lord said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do
not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.”
This quote, perhaps more than any others in the
Word, has become a focal point for the use of New
Church education. The image of the Lord surrounded
by children has long been portrayed by artists. In my
own family my mother did a beautiful rendition of it
which hangs in my office.
The Lord’s love for children is further taught in the
Heavenly Doctrines, where we learn that “all children are under [His] direct
care…” (Heaven and Hell 332) So it is that a team of people at the General
Church central offices came up with the beautiful way of framing the use of
New Church education as “Bringing the Lord to children and children to the
Lord.”
It is an intentional acknowledgement that the Lord wants to influence
their lives, and that they have been created to have an almost innate openness
to Him. Surely it is easy to see many manifestations of this goal, in classroom
and home worship settings, blessings before meals, conversations about
the Lord, Sunday School and so on. Every time parents take their children
to church, they are bringing them to the Lord. Every time they talk to their
children about the Lord, they are bringing Him to them. Perhaps obviously,
the more this happens, the more children grow with the living sense that the
Lord is a part of their lives.
2. “An Extension of the Home.”
Another key quote from the Word that speaks to the use of New Church
education comes in Deuteronomy, when the Lord was establishing His
covenant with the ancient Israelites. After calling them
to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and
strength, the instruction continues, “And these words
which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and
shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when
you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when
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