"Little children"—what a term of endearment! Christ Jesus, the great Master, used it more than once in his teachings, and always with deep love and compassion. He truly loved little children. In them he saw the pure, innocent, receptive qualities of God, unadulterated by world beliefs. Regardless of how many millions of little children there are, each one, in reality, is an individual manifestation of the Father, made in His image and likeness. Jesus' statement "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God" Mark 10:14. is still vital and true today.
Mrs. Eddy also loved little children and perceived in them the qualities of the kingdom of heaven. She wished her faithful followers to become as one of them, for she states in Science and Health, "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea."Science and Health, pp. 323, 324. She established the Christian Science Sunday School, where children up to the age of twenty years can be taught the truths of Christian Science.
As soon as a little child can sit quietly in a chair and listen, he is ready to be taught basic Christian Science. Whether the child is a year and a half or three years old, the teacher should be prepared to guard and guide him, not to baby-sit with or amuse him. Regardless of background, every child has a spiritual sense that responds to divine law and reaches out to it as naturally as a flower turns to the light. He is ready to begin learning the simple realities of the Science of Christ. No child of God is illegitimate, unloved, or unwanted. Each one is a lawful heir of the divine kingdom.
