A recent statement in church caught my attention. The pastor was talking about parents who were grieving because their children had “left the faith.” Lost children are certainly a cause for grief. But I began to ponder whether the statement was true for all of the children in question. In particular, how many of those children were “in the faith” to begin with? Even though they do not practise infant baptism, evangelical Christians still seem to share the attitude of Protestants and Catholics. That is, they assume that children raised in a Christian home are “in the faith” unless and until they choose to leave at a later date. I don’t think this assumption is accurate. The Psalmist David said, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5 NIV). The biblical view is that children raised in Christian homes are not automatically Christian from birth and therefore safe. They are sinful and need to personally come to faith in Jesus Christ. They need to be born again. Being born once to Christian parents is not enough. If Christian parents understood this, perhaps they would not be so complacent or so surprised if their offspring do not choose to follow Jesus. Like other children born to other parents, they need to be prayed for, presented with the gospel, and loved. Christian parents must also realize that there are no guarantees and that, despite the parents’ best efforts, their children are free to reject God.

Psalm 51 is a prayer to a holy and merciful God for forgiveness and salvation. It begins: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” It is a prayer that all of us, parents and children, need to pray.