“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'” (Matthew 18:1-5 NIV)
Are all children happy in school?
I wish I could say the answer is “yes”, but sadly, it is not.
While most teachers like to help children, not all students feel safe in their classrooms. There are, unfortunately, teachers who don’t care about the students in their classrooms. They allow bullying, and the recipients of this bullying are made fun of and sometimes even physically hurt.
But even if they are not hurt physically, students who are made fun of are still hurt. They will never feel safe as long as the bully is around. It is so easy for them to believe that no one cares.
Regrettably, I had even seen teachers bullying students. Although these children were not in my own classroom, I did what I could for them. I tried to make them feel special and show them how precious they were. I tried to show them love. After all, when you give a kid some candy, he or she always leaves with a smile! Whenever we show that we care, it always makes a difference.
May we always follow Jesus’ example and care for children. May we show them the love that comes solely from our Heavenly Father. May we always help these children, for aren’t they also children of God?
Rob Chaffart