Child Care Costs

Today's news highlights how much it costs to provide child care for children. In the midst of the discussion on the Today programme, the interviewer asked a question which threw the 'experts'. He asked, 'What was best for the children?' It didn't get answered.

Parents are often stuck in a bind, with the government, the prevailing culture and the cost of living all making it hard to make decisions which are good for everyone involved. I know many parents who feel trapped by the present situation. No parents want to do something that is not good for their children, but managing to deliver what seems 'the best for the children' is a struggle, particularly as 'the best' will depend on the parents' point of view.

Parents in Jesus' day faced similar, though different issues. The Gospels record how often Jesus referred to children or encountered them in his own ministry.

'One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 

When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them,“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.' (Mark 10.13-16)

For these parents, putting their children into the arms of Jesus, so he could bless them, was clearly important. Clearly, for his disciples, this was not important. Jesus teaches both the disciples and the parents what really matters to him.

But Jesus makes a wider point about how we can enter a whole new world, where the priorities are set by God, and not by the prevailing culture. Childlike dependence, rather than sharp elbowed grabbing, is to be the entry requirement. That costs all of us, whether parents or not, as we learn to give up our own will, and learn to live for others, for the sake of Jesus.

What shapes the decisions you make about children, their care and the requirements set by Jesus?

Incidentally, at St. Andrew's Church, we have deliberately invested in improving our ministry to children and their families, so that we can bring more children to Jesus. I hope you think this is worth supporting.

Best wishes,

Richard