It’s been documented that D.L. Moody, the great evangelist, was preaching in Chicago on October 8, 1871. Before him was the largest congregation he had ever addressed in the city. He concluded his sermon with a blunder that he called the biggest mistake in his life, one he vowed he would give his right hand to take back. D.L. Moody gave the people a week to decide for Christ. That night the great Chicago fire broke out and many of the people who were there were killed. Moody said that was the last time he ever told anyone to postpone a decision for Christ.
A similar event caused me to never again fail at giving a child the opportunity to accept Jesus as Savior.
My pastor called me very early one Sunday morning with some really terrible news. A lost family in our community had just discovered the lifeless body of their seven year old daughter, who had been missing for a number of hours. Apparently the mom and dad hosted a party the night before, where drugs and alcohol were flowing freely. There were many people in the home and the music was unbearably loud. It is believed that seven year old Brittany needed to escape, so she found the quietest place she knew, far away from everyone, in her parent’s bedroom closet. She climbed into a quilt trunk and when the lid fell shut, the latch locked behind her. She was unable to escape or breathe and smothered to death. The family asked me to speak at Brittany’s funeral since I was the children’s pastor.
I spent the next few days preparing my first sermon for a child’s funeral. I visited the grief-stricken family in their home. You can only imagine how broken their hearts were to have lost their only child. I noticed family pictures on the mantle and my heart nearly beat out of my chest when I saw a picture of a little girl who looked familiar. Brittany and her parents had attended our church “cookout and concert” event just two nights prior. During that event we offered a kid’s concert during the adult’s concert. Brittany was there in the kid’s concert that Friday night. The Gospel was not shared, nor an opportunity given for children to accept Jesus as Savior.
During the funeral I could hardly keep myself composed. I kept thinking of
2 Corinthians 6:2 which says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Like David, I believe God saves children who die before they realize they can “reject” God’s forgiveness (2 Samuel 12:2). But we are not the Holy Spirit, and we never know when that time is for any child.
Friend, ALWAYS give children an opportunity to accept Christ!
-Ron Tant
President
Next Generation IMPACT
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