When Did You Decide to Follow Jesus?

An interesting quotation in a Sunday School curriculum publisher's promotional e-mail this morning, highlighting their "Gospel-centered" material: "Nearly 80 percent of people in our churches today decided to follow Jesus before age 18. Of that group, 50 percent decided to follow Jesus before age 12."

The e-mail then proceeded to quote Matthew 19:14: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

There are so many troubling aspects in this for me that it is hard to know where to begin. I'm going to let that simmer for a bit and come back to it in a future post.

Let me instead focus on the real occasion for joy that is reflected in the statistics cited, assuming they are accurate. Eighty percent of parents in these churches are apparently bringing their children to Jesus! Eighty percent of children in these churches are apparently hearing the Gospel! Eighty percent of these congregations seem to be doing a credible job of teaching God's children His Word!

You and I know that a so-called "decision for Christ" can only be the result of Gospel shared, of the Holy Spirit's calling and enlightening. We know that our ability to follow Jesus results only from His power at work in us through Word and Sacraments. To the extent that some people focus on the human actions of "deciding" and "following," they miss the point. The Gospel is not about our actions, our decisions, our choosing, our following, for I "cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him" (Luther's Small Catechism, CPH 1986).

Thank You, God, for Your actions: sacrificing Your Son, forgiving our sins, calling us through the Word, Jesus and the Holy Scriptures, to be Your own. Bless those bring little children to Jesus in Sunday School each week; bless those who teach and those who learn. Amen.