And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:16)
Why do we have child dedications at church? Is it a rite or sacrament of the church? Why would I want to take that public step in regards to my children before others at church?
We dedicate children to the Lord because they belong to the Lord. Hannah said about her boy Samuel "Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD... (1 Sam 1:28) Our children are on loan to us for 18 years, so child dedication is our way of giving them back to the Lord for His help in raising them. No, it’s not a rite or sacrament of the church by any means. It’s a way of thanking the Lord for the blessing of children and the precious gift they are to us (Psa 127:3; James 1:17). You don’t need any formal ceremony at church. You can dedicate them to the Lord on your own. But in the Bible we see parents bringing children to Jesus publicly so I guess that’s why we do it publicly too. In addition, you get the support of the body of Christ and the church family where God has placed you. Through prayer we will receive:
-Wisdom to raise our children (James 1:5)
-Patience to teach them - (Psalm 103:8)
-Love to accept and nurture - (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
-Strength to discipline and correct - (Psalm 19:18)
-And so many other needful things - As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1:3)
So, if you really think about it, when we are dedicating our children to the Lord we are also dedicating ourselves to the Lord. We are dedicating our marriage, our other children, our whole lives to the Lord because who is the perfect parent? We have no prior experience with our firstborn and the second is so different that we again stand in need of the Lord’s wisdom. We can say that children are good for us because they make us realize how much we need the Lord and encourage us to stay close to Him. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God . . . (Gen 5:22)
So as an encouragement to couples: Dedicate your child to the Lord the minute you find out you’re going to have a baby. Then dedicate your child when he is born and as you are rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness. Then bring him before the Lord at church and dedicate him to Jesus with the support of God’s people. But don’t stop there. All throughout your parenting years you can just remind the Lord that your kids are really His. No matter what happens, through both the good and tough times, you can be confident they belong to Him and that they will be kept by the power of God. (1 Peter 1:5)
Louie