A few weeks ago, the Children’s Ministry started a variety of new and exciting programs! Their goal is to bring the message of truth to transform and shape some of the youngest minds of our congregation. Children’s Church brings the Sunday morning message to even the smallest of ears:)
Full disclosure: bringing the bible to a bunch of inquisitive children is no small task! One must be prepared. One must be ready to answer the most outlandish and curious riddles known to man! Like “So… Ms. Kari....did the whale have a room inside of it!?”
There’s a hidden blessing of accountability in all that questioning, if we choose to see it that way. When the children are reaching for answers, it summons the heart and mind of the adult to go deeper into the endless ocean of God’s wonder, grace, and majesty.
Honestly? It makes me a little nervous each week as I go in to prepare. Reading through the lens of a child, I’m looking at details in these classic bible stories and they seem to be hitting me for the first time! It’s like “I don’t remember hearing this at all! Since when did it say that Jonah threw a hissy fit whenever the people of Nineveh were saved? What a jerk! I think my Sunday School teacher left that part out.”
I can name a handful of men and women in my formative years that invested a lot of time in my biblical upbringing. The Sunday School teachers, Wednesday night volunteers, and church camp chaperones. We spoke of the bible often and I’m sure that wonderful things were spoken over me. However, when I really stop and think about my childhood, there’s a lot I don’t remember. Some things do stick out though, and I recall incredible truths, filled with details and information from scripture that brought me to a greater understanding of the Jesus I know and love today.
So maybe the problem isn’t that I didn’t hear all that much about Jonah. Maybe something else got in the way. Of course someone told me all about the wondrous love of Jesus. Maybe it’s just that a lot has been said since then.
For instance, I remember hearing how Jesus wasn’t real, around the time I found out Santa wasn’t real. I recall being at a lunch table in the 6th grade when a close friend made a snarky comment about how “church people are just hypocrites'' and it confused me a great deal. I loved church people! I had friends in high school tell me that I was a prude and a goody goody. It became all too clear that nothing I valued was valued outside the walls of my church. The experiences of Jesus and the bible around me began to shape me from the inside out.
So what happened to the truths spoken over me all those years ago?
Simply put- They got pushed out.
You’re not my friend anymore.
No one’s going to like you if you don’t do it.
If you really loved God, you would stop sinning.
You’re just not my type.
No one cares what you think.
You’re a Jesus Freak.
This is way more fun than some stupid bible study.
The church is a joke. They’re all set in their ways.
Those people don’t love God. Stay away from them.
Instead of opening my bible to combat what I was hearing, I tuned in to every channel where these lies were being spoken. I would rather sing the tune of a popular song than to be made fun of for the melody in my heart.
What are we allowing the world to speak over us? What negative influences are pushing out all the positive kingdom advances of our youth? How has “The Jesus Of Back Then” faded into the background of our lives? How did He go from being the main character in our story to being casted in a supporting role?
I’ll be the first to say it. “Lord, forgive me.”
Good news is all around us in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It ought to be the cry of our hearts that Jesus’ name would ring louder than any sound. Not as a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:41), but as the majestic and powerful melody that it is. (Psalm 29:1-4) I repent of the things I let push out the goodness of God’s love and lordship over my life. It’s time to take back those years, dig back in, and hold ourselves accountable to recalling what’s really real.
Kari
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