我的孫女伊蓮7歲時，在學校看到一部講述中美洲瓜地馬拉一所孤兒院的影片。過後，她跟媽媽說：「我們必須去那裡幫助他們。」她的媽媽告訴她，等她再長大一點，爸爸和媽媽會考慮這件事。

伊蓮從未忘記這事，在她10歲那年，她與家人去那間孤兒院幫忙。兩年後他們又回去，這次還有伊蓮學校裡的幾個家庭一同前往。當伊蓮15歲時，她與她父親再次去瓜地馬拉服事。

我們有時候會認為，小孩的願望與夢想並不像成年人的那麼重要。但聖經的記載卻並非如此，上帝會呼召孩童，如對孩提時期的撒母耳說話（撒母耳記上3章4節）；耶穌看重小孩的信心（路加福音18章16-17節）；保羅勸勉年輕的基督徒，「不可叫人小看你年輕」（提摩太前書4章12節）。

由此可見，上帝要我們去引導孩子們（申命記6章6-7節；箴言22章6節），認識到孩子的信心是我們的榜樣（馬太福音18章3節），也要明白基督的警誡：不可阻止孩子們來親近祂（路加福音18章15節）。

當我們在孩子身上看見希望的火花，你我這些成年人的責任是去點燃它。讓我們在上帝的帶領下，鼓勵孩子們過一種信靠耶穌並服事祂的生活。

When my granddaughter Eliana was just seven, she saw a video at her school about an orphanage in Guatemala. She told her mom, “We have to go there to help them.” Her mom replied that they would think about it when she was older.

Eliana never forgot, and, sure enough, when she was ten, her family went to help in the orphanage. Two years later, they went back, this time taking along a couple of other families from Eliana’s school. When Eliana was fifteen, she and her dad went again to Guatemala to serve.

We sometimes think the wishes and dreams of little children don’t carry the weight of adult hopes. But Scripture seems to make no such distinction. God calls children, as in the case of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:4). Jesus honors the faith of little ones (Luke 18:16-17). And Paul said younger believers shouldn’t let people discount them just because they “are young” (1 Timothy 4:12). So, we’re called to guide our children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs 22:6), recognizing that their faith is a model for us all (Matthew 18:3) and understanding that hindering them is something Christ warned against (Luke 18:15).

When we see a spark of hope in children, our job as adults is to help ignite it. And as God leads us, encourage them toward a life dedicated to trust in Jesus and service for Him.