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Joe writes:

Mark 10: 13-16 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Wes, I read your post and wondered what you thought of these verses above.

Joe, it's clear by Jesus' encounter with these little children that they are precious in His sight.

I was recently with a young family that had just lost their two month old baby. At the funeral the grandfather mentioned to me that when he read Mark 10 where Jesus said let the little children come unto me, it takes on new meaning for them now. This little girl was baptized Sunday morning and died in her crib on Monday morning. We trust Jesus has called her to Himself and has her in His arms now.

This family is taking great comfort in this Mark passage believeing the Lord loved children, blessed them, and took their child to be with Him.


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Joe writes:

Thus, IMHO the Aaronic blessing sheds new light on the Credo position:

Credo churches have baby dedications—blessings. These dedications are praying down God’s blessings upon the child, its parent(s), etc. They normally even charge the Church with its responsibly. Thus, there appears to be some continuity for Credos with the Aaronic blessing. But, the Aaronic blessing was ONLY given to those who were part of the visible church—we still use it today (continuity). Thus, Credos either have to admit that (a) infants are indeed part of the visible church (I am not saying infants are saved), and thus part of their argument against the paedo view disappears (for non-believers may be blessed), or (b) they must hold that no blessings are being received from God in their dedication (though they normally pray), and thus the dedication is but mere words of encouragement for the family and church. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/scratch1.gif" alt="" />

Yes, it’s that phrase “viewing our children as in the church” that brings confusion in how believer’s view either baptism or dedication. There’s a lot of similarity in these practices. It would be interesting to hear from a credobaptist how they view this blessing on the child, its parents, and what the commitment of the church really is. Surely it’s not just words of encouragement.


Wes

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. - Isaac Watts