Should Children Partake Of The Communion?

[Cubes]

Hi there!



I think the thread is entirely off topic now..... In summary, the Lord spoke at the Last Supper, "do this in remembrance of me."


If a child cannot "remember" Christ, they should not be participating. The purpose of the communion is to be partakers with Christ in remembrance of Him... the body of believers.

If you train up a child in the way that he should go, he will not depart from it, right? How much better to train your child that the day that he truly believes, that he will be allowed to be a real participant rather than a spectator.


But until ANYONE believes, should they partake of the communion, it is unworthily done.


~serapha~

Hi Serapha:

I agree that non-believers should not partake of communion, or for that matter, those who say they are believers but are not because of willful disobedience to Christ.

I don't know if I mentioned it but it wasn't till last year that my preschooler had communion. I changed my mind last year...based on what I saw in the bible.

Your argument stands. I want to use it as an anology if I may:

My mother lives in another country but she came to spend several months with us when our last baby was born. My daughter no longer remembers her in a tangible, physical way and would pass her by in the street appearance-wise. On the otherhand we speak with grandma by phone occasionally and speak of her more regularly. My daughter has a firm conviction that she has a grandmother and you won't tell her differently. What she knows of grandma is not based on "memory" or remembrance, but on the fact that we speak of her and she gets to speak to grandma on the phone...

We ourselves, as adults, have never met or seen Jesus and have no "photos" of him. But we know him, based on what we have heard/read...and on our ongoing communion with him through prayer and application of his word. We believed and the holy spirit did his mysterious work and now sustains us.

How is that different for the children? Jesus is like grandma at our house only more. He is who we pray through and sing about and to daily, etc. We lay hands on the children when they are sick and they know the many things he does for us and has brought us through etc...They know that he is the reason we forgive when others hurt us and why we in turn must treat others lovingly. They know what it is like to wrong and be wronged, to forgive and be forgiven, to be punished because of wrong doing... They know Jesus always did the right thing, died for our sakes, arose and seats in heaven at the right hand of the father...and that he is coming back for us. For that matter, no greater level of faith is required of them than of us. Why then do we complicate things?

There comes a time when we shall all know him as we are known...

I post this not so much to refute or debate, but to say: who can fathom the ways of the most high and how he deals with each one of us?

Now I am going to go think about Stauron's post and the NC in relation to this.

 

[A New Dawn]

Hi Serapha:

I agree that non-believers should not partake of communion, or for that matter, those who say they are believers but are not because of willful disobedience to Christ.

I don't know if I mentioned it but it wasn't till last year that my preschooler had communion. I changed my mind last year...based on what I saw in the bible.

Your argument stands. I want to use it as an anology if I may:

My mother lives in another country but she came to spend several months with us when our last baby was born. My daughter no longer remembers her in a tangible, physical way and would pass her by in the street appearance-wise. On the otherhand we speak with grandma by phone occasionally and speak of her more regularly. My daughter has a firm conviction that she has a grandmother and you won't tell her differently. What she knows of grandma is not based on "memory" or remembrance, but on the fact that we speak of her and she gets to speak to grandma on the phone...

We ourselves, as adults, have never met or seen Jesus and have no "photos" of him. But we know him, based on what we have heard/read...and on our ongoing communion with him through prayer and application of his word. We believed and the holy spirit did his mysterious work and now sustains us.

How is that different for the children? Jesus is like grandma at our house only more. He is who we pray through and sing about and to daily, etc. We lay hands on the children when they are sick and they know the many things he does for us and has brought us through etc...They know that he is the reason we forgive when others hurt us and why we in turn must treat others lovingly. They know what it is like to wrong and be wronged, to forgive and be forgiven, to be punished because of wrong doing... They know Jesus always did the right thing, died for our sakes, arose and seats in heaven at the right hand of the father...and that he is coming back for us. For that matter, no greater level of faith is required of them than of us. Why then do we complicate things?

There comes a time when we shall all know him as we are known...

I post this not so much to refute or debate, but to say: who can fathom the ways of the most high and how he deals with each one of us?

Now I am going to go think about Stauron's post and the NC in relation to this.

Your post is almost convincing, but still there is a flaw with it. If you didn't continually remind her about her grandmother, or call her up so she can talk to her, that "remembrance" would fade. It is your remembrance that is creating a "false" relationship. Not that the relationship is false, but it is not her relationship that is keeping the remembrance alive, it is yours, therefore, it is not real for her unless you make it real. We each need to have our own real relationship with God, not one that is foisted upon us by someone else. Granted, foisted might be a strong word, but that is, in essence, what it is.

 

[Cubes]

Your post is almost convincing, but still there is a flaw with it. If you didn't continually remind her about her grandmother, or call her up so she can talk to her, that "remembrance" would fade. It is your remembrance that is creating a "false" relationship. Not that the relationship is false, but it is not her relationship that is keeping the remembrance alive, it is yours, therefore, it is not real for her unless you make it real. We each need to have our own real relationship with God, not one that is foisted upon us by someone else. Granted, foisted might be a strong word, but that is, in essence, what it is.

Hi Jenda!

Perhaps so, in the extent that I told her about my mom, and am the one who dials the phone. Some day she would be old enough to dial herself. Her grandmother also calls and sends her things, and so they have established a relationship independent of me. My daughter on the other hand, initiates artwork and conversations about her grandmother, and grandma is a relevant part of her concept of family.

Similarly, she often prays and sings worship songs to God, independent of me. Although fortunately, all members of our household do these things alone and with one another. And by the way, I am a fellow RN, though took some time off to be home with my girl for a time.

 

[ZealouS]

Jenda I strongly disagree with your post. Children need their parents to raise them before the LORD. The fact that Cubes keeps her children connected to the LORD is a wonderful thing. How else is the relationship to be built? Did not most of the early church come to the LORD through the Apostles relationship to him? Raising your child to know the LORD is the right thing to do. Sometimes we need the guidance of another to establish our own relationship with Jesus.

 

[A New Dawn]

Jenda I strongly disagree with your post. Children need their parents to raise them before the LORD. The fact that Cubes keeps her children connected to the LORD is a wonderful thing. How else is the relationship to be built? Did not most of the early church come to the LORD through the Apostles relationship to him? Raising your child to know the LORD is the right thing to do. Sometimes we need the guidance of another to establish our own relationship with Jesus.

I am not disagreeing with how Cubes is raising his/her child to the Lord. I agree it is our duty to do just that. What I disagree with is the purpose of Communion and who should participate. Someone cannot come into the presence of the Lord on the coattails of another.

 

[A New Dawn]

Hi Jenda!

And by the way, I am a fellow RN, though took some time off to be home with my girl for a time.

Hi!

What kind of nurse are you? I worked in pediatric oncology and with children with other terminal illnesses, such as CF, SCD, etc. But I stopped working shortly before my youngest daughter was born, so I have been off for about 7 years. I would love to go back to work, but we moved and there is no hospital or clinic within my specialty area unless I commuted over an hour each way. So, maybe I will go work at Wal-Mart.

 

[Cubes]

Hi!

What kind of nurse are you? I worked in pediatric oncology and with children with other terminal illnesses, such as CF, SCD, etc. But I stopped working shortly before my youngest daughter was born, so I have been off for about 7 years. I would love to go back to work, but we moved and there is no hospital or clinic within my specialty area unless I commuted over an hour each way. So, maybe I will go work at Wal-Mart.

Prison nurse. Prior to that I did home health. I enjoyed both very much. I took off last year because it got to be a bit hurried shlepping kids back and forth to daycare...and my kids were getting the worse end of the deal, to put it simply. I plan to go back in a few months, perhaps later this year.