When creating our world, calling thousands of living beings to life from nothing, the Lord had some special plan for all of this. He has nothing superfluous, and every living soul has its own purpose and mission on our earth. Sin introduced some corrections to our world, but all of God's creation remains the Lord's and belongs by right only to Him.
Man is the crown of creation and a masterpiece of God's creative design. Our world was created at a time when there was war in Heaven, which had already produced a division between the holy and the fallen. In creating the first people, the Lord was not creating sinners, but giving life to unique holy beings who had reason, consciousness, and freedom of choice. What did the Ruler of the worlds want to show the entire Universe through this creation? What purpose did man have, and what could he teach the unfallen worlds?
It was announced to all that man was created in the image and likeness of God, male and female, who could and would produce people like themselves. This was something new and mysterious, and all intelligent beings began to observe and study God's image, embodied in a visual aid.
Our God is an amazing God. He can reveal to us the depth and beauty of His character for an infinitely long time, so that then at the greatest depth He can reveal to us something very unique that we do not know, and invite us to enter into further revelations that will show us new deposits of God's depth. And in them we will see yet another facet of the beauty of God's character.
Although people fell under the temptation of sin, God turned this fall into a textbook for the entire Universe. And in it all intelligent beings can read how destructive sin is and what it leads the sinner to, as well as how great God's mercy and justice are toward all living and intelligent creation. The world was opened to the science of salvation, of God's love and of God's long-suffering.
At a certain time in the Plan of salvation, the Creator Himself was born into our world—a mystery that is difficult to believe, but which can be revealed and studied. The purpose of this birth was to reveal the image of God to man and restore the image of God in man. Jesus accomplished this task. His birth and death were predicted long before the incarnation of this plan, and all animal sacrifices pointed to the fact that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Christ's death opened a new depth of God's love, in which every sinner can find salvation, hope, and find something new and better for themselves. Each of us has a special purpose in God's Plan of salvation and a special mission that only he can fulfill. And man does not even suspect this mission.
Children of believing parents should at some conscious moment in their lives hear about their purpose and understand that they are special in God's eyes, that God has a unique plan for them, and that God needs them no less than they need Him.
We do not know what happens in a child's mind and heart when we dedicate him to God, when we tell him about Christ and teach obedience to God's law. But we can be confident that God accepts this dedication and begins to guide the life of the one we have dedicated and entrusted to Him. Parents are also endowed with special wisdom from above to better understand how to raise their offspring for a worthy life both in this world and in the future.
When our daughter was very small and could not yet walk, my wife and I decided to dedicate her to God. We believed that there was something in this ceremony that would help us raise our child in the right spirit and with God's help.
We were told what time this event would take place, and we brought our child before God's face. The minister laid hands on our daughter's head and said a solemn prayer, in which he asked the Lord for special influence, protection, upbringing, and blessing on this child. The Lord heard His servant's prayer and answered.
God likes to care for and specially protect those who are dedicated to Him. He receives the right to guide the lives of these little people and bless them in all their everyday matters. Parents also receive wisdom from above to instill the right principles of life in young consciousness.
Dedicating a child to God is not infant baptism. This is only a request that the Lord participate and provide support to parents in their spiritual upbringing of their children. If all spirituality ended at this event, there would be little benefit from any dedication.
This is like paying for a train ticket but not getting on it to arrive at the right place.
Dedication is an important step, but after this follows upbringing in the right spirit, with the right foundation and with the right purpose.
Children are interested in hearing stories about themselves. And when a child hears about his purpose, about how God loves him, how precious he is in God's eyes, when the child understands what and whom he lives for, and what he should strive for, then he has a life guide that will help in any situation to choose the right direction and make the right choice.
By dedicating children to God, telling them about their purpose, pointing out the true goal, raising them in the fear of God, we do not deprive them of freedom of choice and do not program them for absolute holiness. By this we help them determine themselves and, as much as it is in our power, protect them from evil and prepare them for the moment when they themselves must decide whom and how they will serve and worship.
It will be useful for the child to learn that, in addition to earthly parents, he also has a Heavenly Father who loves His children much more and stronger than we do. That he is a son or daughter of the Heavenly King, which should always be remembered and this dignity preserved. That the Lord wants to use him in His work and in the service that the young person will choose for himself. That Jesus won in this spiritual war and will soon come for His friends who have dedicated their lives to Him and live for Him.
Yes, and the parents themselves would do well to understand their own purpose and re-dedicate themselves to God, so that He would be their Leader, Teacher, and Mentor in all life matters. Then there will be something to teach the children.
God has no such children for whom He could not find occupation and entrust service suitable for them. For everyone willing to work, He will find plenty of work and activities in God's vineyard. And it doesn't matter how much or how little will be done, but what matters is the spirit with which a person approaches his work.
The most important purpose, the fulfillment of which God desires to have and see in His children, is their love for one another. It is so important that the Lord declared this a commandment that everyone should not only know but also observe. And your children should understand this and have it among themselves, and it would be good for parents to follow this purpose in their environment.
Love and friendship bring happiness and blessing into life, fill it with true meaning and make it beautiful and wonderful for every child and adult, revealing the true beauty of God's character both to themselves and to the whole world. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God.
Questions for Reflection
Please read Eph. 2:10; Jer. 1:5; 29:11; 1 Sam. 1:26-28; Luke 2:22-24; Mark 10:13-16; Ps. 138:16; Col. 1:16; Isa. 53:6; Gen. 1:27; John 3:17; 13:34-35; Heb. 9:22; Matt. 5:16, in light of this lesson. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind? What did you understand from this lesson? What is purpose? How do you understand it? What is dedication? How does it happen? How often should someone dedicate someone and themselves to God? Do you think if someone dedicates something to you, will it belong to you? Every thing has its own purpose for which it is used. And what is the purpose of man, of male and female? When can you start telling a child about his purpose in God's plan? What signs indicate that a child is beginning to understand his purpose in God? What should parents do after they have dedicated their children to God? Is it important in dedicating children to God that their parents are also dedicated and understand their purpose? Why is love for one another the main factor of dedication and purpose? Why did God create man in His image and likeness? Should man correspond to this purpose?