Child Dedication: Is it important?

I could remember the time when I was about 6 years old when my parents brought me to church and dedicated me to the Lord.  I did not remember the name of the pastor, nor the message but I am sure it touched the hearts of my parents.

After many years, I have a family of my own.  My wife and I agreed to dedicate our daughter to the Lord.  We invited Pr. Bernabe Dahunan and we held it at the church where I was dedicated.  We did not have a fancy program, but we heard the message that help us understand that God is the owner of everything.

Why dedicate our Child to the Lord?

I understand why Hannah gave her son Samuel and his future to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11).  She knows what is best for her son and that is to serve God in the temple.  Samuel became the messenger of God to priest Eli.

These are my reasons:

1. Recognizing that God is the owner of everything even our children.  We believe that our daughter is a gift from God.
2. Acknowledging that God entrusted his child to us and our responsibility is to take care and teach her the right path of righteousness.
3. The need of the support from the church community.  The church community place an important role in nurturing the spiritual aspect of our children by training our children to participate in the church worship and church activities.
4. The privilege to access God’s blessings for our daughter, for us parents and the church congregation.  This is the blessing of the Holy Spirit that will closely guide our thoughts and our children as we train and prepare them for heaven.

Is it really important?

My wife and I think that it is important for parents to understand that God should be part in raising children.  Child dedication is one way of conditioning our mind, renewing the special relationship with God for the purpose of the salvation of our children, accessing God’s promised blessings.  We can be successful parents when we can bring our children to Jesus.