A Christian said to me, “Yes. We never see any example of a child being baptized in scripture. All are adults.” I agree, this example alone should indicate to seekers that God doesn’t view children as needful or eligible for being baptized and saved, Acts 22:16.

But to drill down a little, Calvinists I’ve encountered usually wait to push Jesus on the children, at age 6, 7 or 8, and they believe that prior to this child level response to the appeals, that the younger children are kept safe from doom by something I’ve heard called “prevenient grace. In other words, they view the infant children as selfish, depraved and doomed little sinners, and this from birth, nay from conception, by inheriting from Adam a brokenness in their very heart and mind. Calvinists and many of the Reformed Presbyterians hold to varying degrees of this belief.

So my lesson in this post is attempting to answer what explains a little child’s crying, selfishness with toys, disobeying parental guidance, etc? I believe that Proverb answers this: the foolishness that is bound up in the heart of a child, Pro. 22:15. Foolishness isn’t sin. Foolishness doesn’t indicate lack of perfection in the child. Foolishness is just like the foolishness in a kitten. They don’t know no better. They will eat what isn’t good for them because they don’t know. They run into the street because they don’t know they danger. Kittens have the benefit of nearly always having mother kittens who give careful guidance to the child. Kittens also have instincts that babies and little children do not have. It takes years and years of learning the nuances of manners, human interplay, respect, healthy boundaries, importance of character before God thinks of holding a child to the standard of accountable and guilty, as in Romans 3:23.
I would love to get more feedback to help me hone my thoughts.

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