“Jesus loves the little children, all children of the world.” This well known children’s song dates back to 1862 and reminds us from an early age how much God truly cares for the little ones on earth. But does this mean that babies and young children still go to heaven even if they have not verbally accepted Jesus in their hearts?
Many Christians are familiar with the children’s worship song “Jesus loves the little children.” This song is a simple reminder to us as Christians that everyone is loved by God no matter what their age is. But does this guarantee little children and babies a place in heaven?
Matthew 19 verse 14 says: “ Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
So if Jesus is asking the little children to come to Him, surely that means that He has given them a place in His kingdom, even though they may not be old enough to comprehend their own Christian faith.
Personal experiences
At the end of October my husband and I lost our baby son after he was born prematurely. Even though he only lived for an hour and 17 minutes, we believe that he is in heaven because babies are born with nothing more than the original sin of Adam.
So I believe that until such a time when a child is able to comprehend their Christian faith for themselves, it lies with the parents to pray for, and raise their baby/child to know the ways of the Lord. Just the same as a parent is responsible for nurturing their baby until they can eat and drink solid food etc.
“Start your children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs chapter 22, verse 6)
Repentance
As Christians we know that we have to repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness in order to have a genuine relationship with Christ. Because if we don’t acknowledge our wrongdoings and try to make things right, then how is that living out our Christian faith?
But what if you are not old enough to verbally repent? Does that mean that you can’t be forgiven? Thankfully the Bible teaches us that regardless of what we do or do not say, God still knows our hearts and whether or not we are genuine.
“The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel chapter 16, verse 7)
King David
Even some of the most well known people in the Bible experienced the loss of a baby and expressed the hope that they would be reunited again one day.
When King David sinned against God by having Uriah killed in battle, simply so he could take his wife Bathsheba for himself, God spoke to David through the prophet Nathan telling David that he would lose somebody close to him because of his sin.
Soon after David lost the child that he had with Bathsheba just as God had said he would. Despite this tragedy, David got up and continued on with his life telling his servants “now that the baby is dead why should I fast? I can’t bring him back to life. Someday, I will go to him but he cannot come back to me.” (2 Samuel chapter 12, verse 23)
Conclusion
If Jesus loves his children and wants them to come to Him, then why shouldn’t they be allowed a place in heaven? Even the great King David believed that his child had made it to heaven.
So this gives me the confidence that even though we may lose young children or babies in our lives, we will one day be reunited with them in paradise.
Hi my name is Kate Tooke and I work as a teacher aide, but in my spare time I like to write and sing. I am heavily involved in my church music team as a backing vocalist as well.