Over
the past year or so, I’ve become increasingly burdened by the fact that I have
a Biblical mandate to be the spiritual leader of my household and the primary
faith teacher to my children. I have
also been challenged by leaders in my church and other sources to not only feel
convicted about these duties, but to actually take steps to carry out my
obligations. In accordance with all of
this, and with Easter rapidly approaching, I decided to have a theological
discussion with my son.
Will
is all of three years old, and having any conversation with him, much less a
spiritual one, is challenging to say the least.
But, it is never too early to start talking to your children about
God. Will loves for me to wrestle with
him, and it is during these bouts that I feel I have his undivided
attention. In between rounds, while we
were resting, I thought this might be a great time for some “God moments”. During our conversation I said, “Did you know
that Jesus came to save and rescue us?
Will’s reply, “Was he a fireman, or a Power Ranger?”
That
question may make you giggle, but I think it involves an evangelical angle we
must consider. I believe that Will, at
age three, has not yet reached the age of accountability. He does not understand the concept of sinning
against a Holy God. When he thinks about
being “rescued” or “saved”, in his mind it must be from burning buildings or
evil Ngylock warriors.
Why
is this relevant? Well, I think many
times we get become entrenched in using “Christianeese”. That is terminology that Christians know and
understand, but that unbelievers might be unfamiliar with. During the “big” religious holidays of
Christmas and Easter someone might ask why we celebrate. Our response might be, “Because Jesus came to
save us.” Their appropriate question
then might be, “From what?”
The
logical response then is, “From our sins.”
There it is…the “S” word. (I
know. I know. This is supposed to be a family publication,
right?) It’s not the first time you’ve
seen that word, is it? I mean it only
appears in the Bible about 500 times!
(That’s not an exaggeration for emphasis. I looked it up!) But more important than the number of times
it appears, is the depth and breadth to which human history has been impacted
by that little three letter word.
Think
about it. Hypothetically, if Eve had
never been tempted, then the one fruit fiasco would never have occurred, this
plague upon mankind would never have been perpetuated, and we would all still
be living in the paradise of Eden. But
she was, and it did, and it is, and we’re not!
I know it’s not popular to talk about, but it is our sin that separates
us from Holy God.
But
talk about it we must! It is essential
to salvation, to evangelism, to the faith.
Think about it. If you tell
someone to wear a life-preserver because it will make them feel good, or help
them with their finances, or their relationships, they will be reluctant to put
it on, and fast to remove it if there are not immediate positive results. But explain to them that they are about to
drown, and then a certain urgency takes hold.
This,
by the way, is the difference between Christianity and every other major world
religion. Every other faith group says,
“Follow us, and we will teach you how to swim.”
The Bible on the contrary says in Isaiah 64:6, “All of us have become like one who is
unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our
sins sweep us away.”
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