📖 Biblical Definition
A human being in the early stage of life, created in the image of God, bearing a soul of infinite worth from the moment of conception. Children are a heritage from the Lord and a reward (Psalm 127:3) — not burdens, accidents, or extensions of parental ambition, but sovereign image-bearers entrusted to parents for a season. Scripture calls parents to train, discipline, teach, and love their children, while warning against exasperating them.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
CHILD, n.
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CHILD, n. A very young person of either sex, generally applied to the period from birth to the age of puberty. In a Scriptural sense, a child of God is one regenerated by the Spirit and adopted into the family of God. To be childlike is to exemplify the humility and trust that Christ commended.
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 127:3 — "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward."
Matthew 18:3 — "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Proverbs 13:24 — "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him."
Matthew 19:14 — "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Children are increasingly viewed as lifestyle choices to be optimized rather than souls to be formed.
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Modern culture reframes children primarily as lifestyle choices to be optimized — when to have, how many, with what credentials, on what timeline. The biblical category of heritage / image-bearer / soul-to-be-formed gets obscured by economic and aspirational framings. Abortion makes the corruption literal: personhood denied at the convenient moment.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
G3813 — paidion (παιδίον) — little child; also used for spiritual infants in the faith H3206 — yeled ...
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G3813 — paidion (παιδίον) — little child; also used for spiritual infants in the faith
H3206 — yeled (יֶלֶד) — child, boy; from the root 'to bear or bring forth'
Usage
"The way a society treats its children reveals what it truly believes about human dignity, the future, and the nature of life itself."
"To become like a child before God is not regression — it is the highest spiritual posture: dependent, trusting, receptive."