Short answer: The Bible says children are a blessing and a gift from God, that Jesus welcomed them and held them up as a picture of humble faith, and that parents are to teach them God's ways with patience and love. It also teaches that children, like all of us, are born with a sinful nature and need a Savior. Raising them is a calling from God, not a burden to be endured.
In This Article
- What Bible Verse Says Children Are A Blessing?
- Why Does God Give Us Children?
- How Did Jesus Treat Children?
- What Does The Bible Tell Parents To Do, And Not To Do?
- Does The Bible Say Children Are Without Sin?
- What Are God's Promises About Children, And What About Grown Children?
- Key Bible Verses About Children
Few subjects touch people as closely as children. Parents ask how to raise them, grandparents ask how to pray for them, and many who long for children ask what God thinks of that longing. The Bible has a good deal to say, and most of it is warmer and more practical than people expect.
This article covers what Scripture says about the value of children, what parents are told to do and not to do, whether children are born without sin, what God promises, and what to do when your children are grown.
What Bible Verse Says Children Are A Blessing?
The best known is Psalm 127:3-5, which describes children as a heritage and reward from God and compares them to arrows in a warrior's hand:
Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.
Psalm 127:3 (NIV)
An arrow is made to be aimed and sent out. The picture is of parents who shape their children with care, then release them into the world. The psalm says children are a gift and a source of joy and strength. Scripture also holds that every child is made by God, a thought David put in these words:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)
That is why the Bible's view of children's worth begins before birth. If you want to read more on that, see Bible's View On Life: When Does Life Begin?. And for families who have lost a child before birth, I wrote a separate article on miscarriage.
Why Does God Give Us Children?
Scripture offers several reasons, though it never reduces children to a tool. God made humanity to fill the earth and care for it (Genesis 1:28), and he made the family as the place where faith is passed on. The prophet Malachi speaks of God seeking godly offspring (Malachi 2:15). Children also give parents a place to practice love, patience and self-sacrifice, and to see something of how God loves us.
Not everyone has children, and the Bible does not treat childlessness as a sign of God's displeasure. Plenty of faithful people in Scripture waited long, and some never had them. Spiritual fruitfulness is open to every believer. Still, for those who do receive children, the Bible says they are not to be regarded lightly. See also What Does The Bible Say About Family?.
How Did Jesus Treat Children?
With great tenderness. When the disciples tried to keep parents from bringing their little ones to him, Jesus was displeased, and he said:
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
Matthew 19:14 (NIV)
Mark adds a detail I love:
And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:16 (NIV)
When the disciples asked who was greatest in the kingdom, Jesus set a child in front of them and said that people must become like children, with humble, simple, dependent faith (Matthew 18:1-6). He did not mean that children are perfect. He meant they trust easily and do not pretend to be self-sufficient. In the same passage he warns severely against anyone who causes a child to stumble. That is a warning every adult should take seriously, whether in a family, a classroom or a church. Related: Is Bullying A Sin In The Bible?.
What Does The Bible Tell Parents To Do, And Not To Do?
The main task is teaching. Deuteronomy tells parents to keep God's commands in their own hearts first, then to talk about them in ordinary life:
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV)
Proverbs 22:6 adds the encouragement that training bears fruit:
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
Many Bible teachers read this as a general principle and not an ironclad guarantee, since the Bible itself records godly parents with children who wandered. It is a promise of direction, not a formula. Parents are also told to discipline in love. Proverbs 13:24 says that the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. I read that as a call to loving, consistent correction, never to cruelty or harshness, and it must be read with the verses below.
And here is what parents are told not to do:
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Colossians 3:21 (NIV)
The Bible warns against provoking, crushing or discouraging a child. Correction is meant to build, not wound. Showing favoritism, neglecting a child's spiritual and physical needs, and leading a child into sin are also condemned. Scripture is clear that the model for parenting is the way God deals with us: firm, patient and kind. The proverb about a child's character (Proverbs 20:11) reminds us that children, like adults, show who they are by what they do, and that is part of why guidance matters.
Does The Bible Say Children Are Without Sin?
This is a question where Christians hold their views with some care. The Bible teaches that all people are born with a sinful nature. David wrote:
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 51:5 (NIV)
That is the doctrine of original sin, and it is why even small children need the grace of God, as much as grown people do. Yet the Bible also shows God's special mercy toward children. Jesus said the kingdom belongs to such as these, and David, after losing his infant son, said he would go to him one day (2 Samuel 12:23). Many Christians draw comfort from that and trust that God is merciful to the very young. Scripture does not give us a precise age of accountability, and I will not claim to know more than it says. What I do believe is that God is just and kind, and that parents should teach their children the gospel early and lovingly. For the basics of sin and salvation, see What Is Sin?.
What Are God's Promises About Children, And What About Grown Children?
Peter promised on the day of Pentecost that the offer of salvation reaches families: Acts 2:39 says the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off. That is a real encouragement for praying parents. It is not an automatic guarantee that every child will believe, but it does mean that the God of the gospel welcomes families and is at work in them.
When children grow up, the parent's role changes from guide to prayer partner and counselor. The Bible expects grown children to leave home and form their own households (Genesis 2:24), and to honor their parents all along (Exodus 20:12). The parable of the prodigal son shows a father who waits, does not nag, and runs to welcome his child home (Luke 15:20). Many parents of adult children will find the greatest comfort in this: you cannot force a heart, but you can pray and keep the door open. John wrote one of the most tender lines about this:
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 (NIV)
Key Bible Verses About Children
- Psalm 127:3: children are a heritage and reward from the Lord.
- Psalm 139:13-14: God knits each child together in the womb.
- Matthew 19:14: Jesus welcomes the little children.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-7: teach God's word to your children in everyday life.
- Proverbs 22:6: train a child in the way he should go.
- Ephesians 6:4: do not exasperate your children.
- Psalm 51:5: all of us are born with a sinful nature.
- 3 John 1:4: no greater joy than children walking in the truth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are God's promises about children?
God promises to be near families, and Acts 2:39 says the promise of salvation is for you and your children. Proverbs 22:6 promises that faithful training tends to bear fruit. Neither is a guarantee of any one child's faith, but both give real hope to praying parents.
Does the Bible say children are without sin?
No. Psalm 51:5 teaches that we are sinful from conception, and children need grace like the rest of us. Scripture also shows God's mercy to the very young, and many Christians find comfort in David's words about his infant son in 2 Samuel 12:23.
What does the Bible tell parents not to do to their children?
Not to exasperate, embitter or discourage them (Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21). Discipline is to be loving and aimed at training, never cruel, and parents are not to lead children into sin or neglect them.
What does the Bible say about your grown children?
They are to leave home and form their own families while still honoring their parents. Parents keep loving, praying and welcoming, as the father did in the story of the prodigal son. See What Does The Bible Say About Family?.
What is the uplifting Bible verse for a child?
Many parents use Psalm 139:14, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, or Matthew 19:14, where Jesus welcomes the little children. Both tell a child that they are known and loved by God.
