As we gather today, I want to reflect for a few moments on why we baptize little children here at Tenth Presbyterian Church. The title of these brief comments is Let the Little Children Come to Me, and there are two simple reasons for this practice. We baptize children at Tenth Presbyterian because, first, God loves little children. And second, Jesus loves little children.

God Loves Little Children

From the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible, it is plain to see that God loves children. After creating Adam and Eve, God commands them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The only way they could do that was by having children—lots of little children. From the very start, children were an integral part of God’s creation mandate. And they remain an integral part of his redemption mandate after Adam and Eve fall into sin.

In Genesis 3:15, God promises to defeat the ancient serpent through the offspring of the woman—through a child. From that moment forward, children stand at the center of God’s redemptive purposes.

Every covenant promise God makes in the Old Testament includes children. The covenant with Noah includes children. The covenant with Abraham includes children. The covenant with Moses includes children. The covenant with David includes children. When Israel is redeemed from slavery in Egypt, children come out with their parents. When Israel renews covenant with God before entering the promised land, children are present. When God’s people return from exile in Babylon, children return with them.

In all of God’s great redemptive acts in the Old Testament, children are always present and always included. The consistent message is unmistakable: God loves children. God loves the little children.

Jesus Loves Little Children

Not only does God love little children—Jesus loves little children.

In Mark 10:13–16, parents bring their children to Jesus so that he might touch them. The disciples rebuke the parents for bothering Jesus, but Jesus responds by rebuking his disciples. This is one of the few times in the Gospels where we are told that Jesus becomes indignant—angry. He is angry that his disciples are hindering little children from coming to him.

Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Then he takes the children in his arms, blesses them, and lays his hands on them.

Now, I am not saying that Jesus baptized these children. But I am saying that what he did to them was deeply significant. For a Jewish adult to take a child in his arms, bless them, and lay hands on them was not a casual or sentimental gesture. It was a loaded gesture.

In the Old Testament, the conferral of covenant blessing often took place through the laying on of hands. Think of Isaac blessing Jacob. Think of Jacob blessing Ephraim and Manasseh. Covenant blessings were passed from one generation to the next by the laying on of hands.

So when Jesus takes these little children in his arms, blesses them, and lays his hands on them, he is visibly conferring covenant blessing upon them. At the very least, Jesus is showing that they belong in the covenant and that he views them as covenant children.

These children were not little pagans being brought to Jesus. They were covenant children. Jesus knew the covenant promise—“to you and to your children”—and he treated them as worthy recipients of that promise. He blesses them and lays his hands on them. Again, I am not saying he baptized them, but I am saying that he treated them as members of the covenant.

And if children were treated as members of the covenant in the Old Testament—marked with the sign of circumcision—then it follows that children who belong to the covenant in the New Testament are legitimate recipients of the sign of baptism.

Like his Father before him, Jesus loves little children. He treats them as part of his covenant people. And he becomes angry when others refuse to treat them that way. If they belong to the covenant, then they rightly receive the sign of the covenant.

A Word for These Children

Which brings us today to Aurora and Onyx, the daughters of Zeke and Marianne—two precious girls. They are not little pagans. They are little covenant children whom God loves, whom Jesus loves, and therefore whom we, as a church, love.

One of the ways we show our love for our children in this church is by giving them the sign of baptism. Baptism is a sign of washing with water. It is a symbol of the forgiveness of sins and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

And as we place that sign on Aurora and Onyx today, what we are saying to them is this: May what has been placed on the outside of you become a reality on the inside of you. May you come to know, in your heart of hearts, the forgiveness of sins and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.

That is why we baptize little children at Tenth Presbyterian Church.