A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Stuart Cash describes Rivers Clark as “a four year old girl full of life, energy and love for Jesus.”  For most of her life, Rivers has come with her grandparents, Bob and Jacquie Barringer, to church services at the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Now, another member of Rivers’ family is worshipping with them.  Stuart Cash tells us how it developed…

A little over a year ago, Rivers began asking her ‘Da Da’, Ron Clark, if he would read her a Bible story before bedtime every night.  Even though he himself wasn’t going to church or following Jesus at the time, he still agreed.  Night after night of reading Bible stories to her, he began to think about his life – about things like peace, joy, happiness, and of course, purpose.

After a few weeks, Rivers asked her ‘Da Da’ if he would come to church with her.  Even though he didn’t really want to, he once again said he would just because she wanted him to.  When he first started bringing Rivers to Pleasant Valley, he would take her to class and then sit in the back of the auditorium, doing his best to avoid any conversations.  Truth is, he felt guilty for even being in church.  He was under the misconception that in order to attend a church, you have to have your life in order; you couldn’t have a past; you had to have all of the answers.  Since he knew that he didn’t, he felt guilty even being there.  But week after week, he started to notice that others there were also struggling with temptations.  They didn’t have it all together or have all the answers.  They, too, had a past, just like he.

Slowly he started to talk with people, build relationships, attend classes, and study the Scriptures with one of the ministers on staff.  One Wednesday night in the 4-year-old-class, Rivers asked the teacher the most beautiful question anyone has ever heard, “Are you going to baptize my DaDa?”  A year after Ron started coming to church with his daughter, he made the decision to put Christ on in baptism for the forgiveness of his sins.  He realized that his life was in need of a Savior.  He finally found the purpose for which he’d always been searching. *

Stuart Cash also wrote: “Just like Ron, we all have a story.  We all have a past.  We all have things in our lives of which we aren’t proud.”  But that is the very reason for which Jesus came: to save us from our sins (Luke 19:10)!

God loves us so much that He gave His One and Only Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2).  On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we can be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

God will save those who put their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

Aren’t you happy for Rivers’ dad, Ron, for his decision to be baptized into Christ?  Aren’t you also thankful for little Rivers who loved her Daddy so much that she wanted him to know about Jesus?

“A little child shall lead them…” (Isaiah 11:6).

Won’t YOU also become a Christian?

-- David A. Sargent

* “Child Leads Father to Christ” by Stuart Cash, Involvement Minister, Pleasant Valley Church of Christ, April 13, 2016, in The Good News, a monthly report from Oklahoma Christian University.

David A. Sargent, Minister