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About a year ago when I escorted Bimisola, my twelve
year old daughter, to her new school, her teacher made
very complementary statements about her performance. On
my way back home, thinking about how well she and her
fourteen year old brother, Bimisayo, were doing
academically (both are honor students), I said aloud,
“God’s grace definitely has something to do with
it.” Immediately, I was corrected in my heart, ‘It is
ALL
the grace of God!’ I reflect over their lives, and I see
God’s hand on them at every point and in every aspect.
Sometimes they do or say things that are not right or
are about to form a bad habit; one way or the other,
Dele, my husband and I get to know about it. As a
result, we correct the wrong or nip the negative habit
in the bud. Often, I joke with the children that we find
them out because we know all things. On a serious note,
I know that it is God who exposes their ways to us. That
day as I reminisced, I glorified God that both children
were healthy, well mannered and intelligent. Then I
remembered this scripture about Jesus growing up strong,
being filled with wisdom and having the grace of God
upon him
- Luke
2:40.
It was a perfect fit for Bimisayo and Bimisola! I knew
we had great kids and it was not because Dele and I were
perfect parents. In my heart, I heard the Spirit of God
saying to me, “This is what happens when you dedicate
your child to God and have unfaltering trust in God to
take care of the child.”
Though dedicating a child to God leads to having God’s
blessings on the child, yet child dedication must be
based on the foundation that you are in Christ. As a
child of God who is committed to walking in the ways of
God, you should expect to have children who will follow
in your footsteps. When Dele and I were about to start a
family, we yearned for children who will glorify God
with their lives and accomplish mighty things for the
kingdom of God because we were believers. In creation,
God created vegetation and animals which produced
offspring according to their kind - Genesis
1:11-12; 20-25. In creating Man, God did not
deviate from this principle. When Adam had lived
130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own
image; and he named him Seth - Genesis 5:1-3.
God’s word further assures that a parent by the virtue
of being a believer has holy children -
1Corinthians
7:14.
As a righteous person (you are the righteousness of God
in Christ Jesus - 1Corinthians
5:21),
you can expect God to make your children God-fearing.
Note, this does not mean your children are born saved or
have automatic salvation as a result: everyone must make
a personal decision to be saved. When God enters into a
covenant with an individual, it extends to his family.
(Study Genesis 13:14-15 about Abraham;
Genesis 26:1-6 about Isaac; and Genesis
28:10-15 about Jacob, etc.) As long as your
children are under your authority, your covenant of
righteousness with God is broadened as a hedge over
them. Dele and I dedicated our children to God because
we knew that was the starting point in having God’s will
for their lives becoming fulfilled.
The steps in child dedication can be compared to the
process of salvation. To get saved, you should
understand that God’s Word says that you are a sinner
and you need to ask Jesus into your heart. Similarly,
you should recognize that every child born into the
world is born as a sinner. David said, ‘In sin did
my mother conceive me’ - Psalm 51:5.
Just knowing that you are a sinner and you need Jesus
does not make you saved. You need to believe with your
heart and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
-
Romans 10:9-10. Like salvation, comprehending
all the things outlined above does not ensure automatic
dedication of your child to God.
Dele and I learnt that
godly children will not just materialize simply because
we craved for them. We realized that God was the one who
could mold their character and charter a righteous
future for them; and we needed to make a conscious
request to God about it. So, together in the privacy of
the hospital room at the birth of each child, we laid
our hands on the child and said a prayer that went like
this, “Dear Father God, we dedicate this child unto you,
in Jesus Name. We ask and receive the grace to bring up
this child in your ways and for your glory, in Jesus
Name, Amen.” The act of dedicating your child to God
involves you believing in your heart that God is able to
keep that which is entrusted to him and saying with your
mouth (in your own words) a prayer of dedication of your
child to God. The prayer may be as simple or as
elaborate as you please; the important thing is that you
say it in faith.
You ask, what about the dedication service in church? I
would liken that to the act of water baptism after
salvation. With or without it, your faith in Christ is
what brings about your salvation. Water baptism is
commanded by God - Matthew 28:19. Jesus
told John to baptize him to fulfill all righteousness -
Matthew 3:15. A child dedication ceremony
is a forum to publicly present your child to God and
have other believers join their faith with yours for
your child’s godly future. It is also an acknowledgement
that the church represents the larger family within
which the child will be raised up.
Approximately six
weeks after birth, we carried Bimisayo to church for a
child dedication service. When it came to that portion
of the service, our pastor gave a short exaltation on
the importance of child dedication to God. He asked Dele
and me if we were ready to raise up our son in the ways
of God. Of course, we said yes. He proceeded to invoke
God’s blessing over the life of our child in dedicating
him to God. Our pastor also petitioned God’s grace for
us to bring up Bimisayo in the ways of God. Nearly two
years later, we went through a similar ceremony for
Bimisola.
The timing of child dedication differs from family to
family for many reasons. It is, however, best to
dedicate your child right at birth. For some, it does
not occur to them to do so until the child dedication
service. Yet still, for others it has not even occurred
to them to do so until reading this. Correspondingly,
the time allotment for a child dedication ceremony
varies. In the bible, Jesus was presented in the temple
when the time of Joseph and Mary’s purification
according the Law of Moses had been completed -
Luke
2:22.
Church traditions may prevail. For us, the church we
attended encouraged child dedication on the first Sunday
the child was brought to church. In some churches, there
may be set times in the month or year assigned for child
dedication. Also, the date as to when all family members
can attend may be taken into consideration. As long as
your child is still under your parental authority, it is
never too late. In our first church, a newly saved
mother brought her three teenage children and had them
dedicated to God before the congregation. God honored
her faith. Months later, she testified about the
positive changes she had begun to observe in all her
children. Whatever the time, the crucial aspect is that
you understood the reasons for dedicating your child to
God and then proceeding in faith.
After dedicating your child to God, with or without a
child dedication service, you can expect the Lord’s
blessings upon the child. In asking the Lord for a
child, Hannah vowed to give the child back to the Lord.
Six years later, after she had weaned Samuel, the child
God gave her, she fulfilled her vow by entrusting Samuel
under the care of Eli the priest. The result of
dedicating her child to the Lord was that the boy
Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with
the LORD and with men - 1Samuel
2:26.
In the New Testament, Joseph and Mary took him
[Jesus] to
Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord… the child [Jesus] grew and
became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace
of God was upon him - Luke 2:22-23, 39-40.
I remember an occasion where Bimisayo, almost two years
old, went missing after church. He apparently walked out
of the church premises unnoticed with the departing
crowd after the first service. As soon as we realized he
was missing, a search party was convened. As I combed
the area for him with the sister I was paired with, I
kept re-assuring myself that we had dedicated him to God
and wherever he was, God’s protection was over him.
Armed with this fact, I was convinced that we would find
him sooner or later and my heart was at peace. About two
hours later, the sister and I came across him in a
neighboring catholic children’s church. He had been fed
and was fast asleep. Each time I think about the
incidence, I am further convinced that one of the
benefits of dedicating your child to God is the promise
of God’s protection.
You may question, I dedicated my child to the Lord but
why don’t I see any of these blessings in his/her life?
Dedicating your child as I mentioned earlier should be
established on God’s Word and done in faith. Also, what
you are committing to, by dedicating your child, is the
continuous surrender of the child to God with steady
trust in God for the life of the child. The act of
dedicating your child to God does not stand alone; it is
synonymous with an unceasing trust in God over the
child’s life. God has a plan for your child which He is
able to carry out and you need to trust Him to do so.
Hannah said, ‘I prayed for this child, and the
LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give
him over to the LORD…’ - 1Samuel
1:27-28.
It was well known that Eli’s sons were wicked men and
this was the household Hannah chose to leave her son to
grow up in. Despite the corruption in Eli’s house, she
was able to declare, ‘…For his whole life he will
be given to the LORD’ - 1 Samuel
1:28.
Her dedication of her son to the LORD was complete.
Samuel turned out to be a great prophet, the LORD
was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his
words fall to the ground - 1Samuel 3:19.
With
our children, Dele and I regularly yield them over to
the Lord to have his way in their lives and pronounce
God’s blessings over their lives. Last year, our son
went through a stage in his life where he had questions
about his faith. Though he participated in our daily
family devotion, went to church and even took active
part in the youth ministry when available, yet he did
not seem to have a personal fellowship with God. I must
confess that sometimes it bothered me. At such times, I
learned to pray for him and re-affirmed my faith in God
for his life. God was faithful. I am certain that
because we dedicated him to God, he was God’s and God
was in control of his life. Sooner or later, I believed,
the work of the Holy Spirit in his life would produce
great spiritual results. To the glory of God, towards
the end of last year, our son re-dedicated his life to
Christ and was water baptized. God is working out His
plan in his life. Indeed, our God is faithful.
Dedicating your child to God has many advantages
connected to it with the assurance of a godly future for
the child. In the bible, Samuel and Jesus are examples
for us to hold on to. Dele and I bear witness to the
power and grace of God on Bimisayo and Bimisola as a
result of dedicating them to the Lord. I have met
several Christians who have testified to the same about
their children. It is my hope that you will realize the
blessings attached to child dedication and appropriate
such over your children.
Child Dedication © Olabisi Adeyi 2007 All
rights reserved.
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