Why We Do Baby Dedications

Title: Why we do baby dedications.

Mark 10:13-16 The Message

“The people brought children to Jesus, hoping that He might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it. “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”

Then gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.”

From time to time we get to do baby dedications and our scripture passage gives us 3 reasons why it is important to do them.

Reason #1 we do baby dedications is because baby dedications are biblical.

It’s important to know this because the disciples did not think so. In fact they strongly discouraged the people from bringing their children to Jesus. (Baby dedications are not of God!) Perhaps they thought that there were more important things for Jesus to do. Jesus certainly did not think so! He was irate at his disciples and let them know it. “Don’t push these children away. Don’t get between them and me.” We call anything that gets between us and Jesus non-biblical. Are baby dedications something that gets between us and Jesus? No! Not according to our scripture passage.

Reason #2 we do baby dedications is because baby dedications have a message to tell us.

“These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”

This message is not obscure or minor. This message is central to life in the kingdom of God. This message is also simple. It is so simple that even a child can understand and do it. The message that baby dedications tell us is this: unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.

Jesus is not telling us that baby dedications save us. What he is telling us is that baby dedications show us how to be saved. We are saved through faith alone in Jesus. Another word for faith is trust. We are to become like little children and place our trust in Jesus alone for our salvation. Anything other than faith or trust in Jesus no matter how good it might be, serves only to push us away from the kingdom of God by coming between us and Jesus.

Reason #3 we do baby dedications is because baby dedications remind us that our children are most blessed when they are in the arms of God.

As parents we all want the very best for our children. We all have great hopes for them. What is the very best for our children? What is the greatest hope we can have for our children? Our passage tells us the answer. “The people brought children to Jesus, hoping that He might touch them”. This is the very best our children can receive. The touch of God! The very best thing a parent can do for their child is to help bring them to Jesus.