From “Jesus Loves Me” to God's Grace

Someone has to tell them!

Read Psalm 78:1-7

“Jesus loves me, this I know…” I know you know how that song ends. “For the Bible tells me so.” I do not know who first taught me Jesus Loves Me. My grandmother, Ahmama, would sing the song to me and my siblings after she tucked us into bed. Another person would be Mrs. Frank, my preschool Sunday School teacher. Mrs. Frank’s class was a rite of passage for the children of Calvary United Methodist Church in Frederick, Maryland. Or my mom sang it to me when I was younger. If I had to guess, all three of these women had a hand in ensuring that I knew Jesus loved me and that if I needed proof, I could look to the Bible.

Photo by Cassidy Rowell on Unsplash

The Psalmist tells us that if we want our children to know the “glorious deeds of the Lord” so they can “set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God,” someone has to tell the children about God. That someone can be a grandparent, Sunday School teacher, or parent, but at some point, if we want our children to know about the grace of God, we need to tell them.

I wish I could tell you that I have this figured out as a pastor and parent. I wish I could tell you I have perfectly taught my children about God’s love for them. Yes, we pray before (some) meals. But (and you know what they say about big buts) at the end of the day, this task is not solely on my shoulders. When children are baptized, the congregation, on behalf of the whole church, promises to teach our kids about God’s grace so that as they grow and mature, they will come to know God’s grace for themselves. “It takes a church to baptize,” writes Scot McKnight, and praise be to God that the task of sharing the “glorious deeds of the Lord” is not left up to us parents (and pastors).