Children are very important people who need Good News, not Bad. Jesus is very severe with people who abuse children spiritually—that is, pastors, or parents, or teachers who tell them Bad News instead of the pure, true “gospel” that He commanded us to tell everybody (Mark 15:16; Matt. 18:6).
When it’s our turn to tell the Children’s Story in the church service, we must beg Him to help us do it right, to tell them something that will turn their little feet toward the kingdom of God, and not vice versa.
Sometimes I like to make it into a game that a child can play with me. If one volunteers, I tell him/her that all I want him to do is to go for a walk with me down the aisle of the church, and he/she hold on to my hand. That’s all!
So, the trusting child, smiling a bit sheepishly, stands with me there in front of everybody, and tremulously holds my hand. Whereupon I take off in top gear down the aisle with the child left there behind, not having taken a step, because of course there was no hanging on.
Then, after “berating” the child for not holding on to my hand as I told him/her to do, I say, “Now let’s try it again; and this time instead of you holding on to my hand as we go for a walk, let me hold you by the hand. Then we take off and I hold on tight.
Then I make my point: being saved in God’s kingdom does not depend on you holding on to God’s hand, because you and I and all of us are too weak to hang on. But it depends on us believing that He is holding tight to our hand.
He says so: “I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” (Isa. 41:13).
The idea is not that we must take the initiative in our salvation and start the process going; we must believe that His love for us takes the initiative; it’s an important point that must not be twisted or distorted. It’s “God [who] so loved the world that He gave ...” It’s not we who persuaded Him to love us! You and He are crossing this busy street of worldly traffic and you are the little child. “Father” is not going to let you run across on your own. He is going to hold you tight by His hand. (True, if you are perverse, you can wriggle yourself out of His hand; a child can do that, and get hit by the traffic.)
You don’t want to do that, do you? Respond to His constant gripping of your hand.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" web page resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to:
To un-subscribe send an e-mail message with "un-subscribe" in the body of the message to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" phone message is available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
