Sacred Children in an Anti-Child World

“The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.” —James Baldwin

Recently, I read a comment on social media that shocked me: “I have nothing against them, I just don’t like them and don’t want to be around them.”

It was written about children.

Imagine saying this about any other group of people on earth, especially one already vulnerable or marginalized. Yet someone felt no shame in posting it publicly.

We see these anti-child messages everywhere: calls for airlines to ban children from first class, requests for “child-free hours” at grocery stores, or scolding parents for simply bringing their children into public spaces. Even when the complaint shifts to blaming the parent, the child is still being dismissed and dehumanized.

I’ve been the childfree passenger on the plane next to a crying baby, and I’ve been the mother of the crying baby on the plane. I can guarantee the one having the worst time is the actual crying baby.

People often insist they don’t dislike children, only “children’s behavior.” But very young children are simply learning to exist in the world, and they have the same right to do so as everyone else.

We need a sacred view of children in a world that holds them in contempt.

In his book The Kingdom of Heaven: A Liberation Theology, R.L. Stollar writes:

“We live today in a world that does not value children like it should. We live, in many ways, in an anti-child world. Our world uses children and abuses children…If our theology does not help children break free from the evils imposed on them by this country and the broader world, then it is not right theology. If our theology does not lift up, love, and protect children like Jesus did, it is fraudulent.”

What would change in us if we treated every encounter with a child as a glimpse of the divine?

Jesus Blesses the Marginalized Children

Jesus’ world was no gentler to children than ours. Children were fragile, invisible, and frequently exploited. Childhood survival was not guaranteed. Their social status often ranked below men, below women, and sometimes even below enslaved people.

Perhaps the caregivers who brought children to Jesus were desperate for a blessing and hoping for survival, healing, or protection.

Jesus responds not with irritation but with tenderness.
He takes the children up in his arms.
He holds them.
He blesses them with the same touch he uses to heal the sick.

This was a radical act of inclusion.

Jesus’ reaction to marginalized children was to welcome them, hold them, and lift them up as the model citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

When the Church Devalues Children

It is bad enough that children are unwelcome in public spaces, but when the Church excludes children, intentionally or not, it is tragic.

I’ve seen worship spaces where children are ushered away so adults can “enjoy” the service without distraction. A children’s minister recently said that if all the kids in her congregation disappeared one Sunday, many adults might not even notice.

The unspoken message: You are not valued here.

But children deserve to come close to God in worship spaces just like anyone else—fully human, deeply spiritual participants in the life of the Church.

Jesus dignified children with a blessing. He gave them not equal standing, but the highest standing. He told us that if we want to receive the Kingdom, we must become like them.

And yet, across centuries, the Church has often shushed them, silenced their wonder, and taught them to be “seen and not heard.”

How will we learn to recognize the Kingdom if we refuse to listen to the ones who hold the dream of God in their hands?

Children as Sacrament

When Jesus blesses the children, he does not offer words. He offers touch.

By literally hugging the marginalized children who come close to him, Jesus affirms that it is not just their souls he cares for, but their bodies as well. The disciples try to protect Jesus, but Jesus overturns their assumptions and centers the children instead—lifting them up as the ones who show us what the Kingdom of God is actually like.

The theologian Craig L. Nessan calls children a sacrament when he writes:

“Jesus, who was a child and experienced all the vicissitudes of childhood, makes the child a sacrament of the Kingdom of God.”

In other words, Jesus makes the child a visible sign of God’s presence in the world.

I wonder what would happen if this passage were preached more often. If children heard this story again and again, until they knew with certainty that they are beloved children of God.

What would happen if we understood children not as distractions in our communities, but as sacraments who reveal God’s heart?

How might our voting change? How might this shape our commitment to ending gun violence, protecting LGBTQ+ youth, and ensuring all children are safe, housed, and fed?

What would happen if we showed up, again and again, to do the hard work of welcoming and protecting children so their whole selves can flourish?

This can only happen when we choose a sacred view of children—when we treat their dignity as nonnegotiable and align our politics, priorities, and commitments with their wholeness.