3 Things Children Need to Know

Children remind us of the good things in the world: innocence, laughter, playfulness, and wonder. I imagine this could describe life in the Garden of Eden before Eve’s conversation with the ancient serpent.

Ever since the sneaky snake’s visit, even the sweetest little mouths eventually blurt out,  “Mine!”, “That’s not fair!” and “She did it first”. Greed, selfishness, and blame just come with the territory.

I sat thinking about my four grandchildren. (If you ask me, I’ll say they are perfect. But, you and I both know that’s not exactly true. All of us have our moments we’d rather not let anyone else know about.) I wondered what I could do to help them focus longer on the good things in life.  Immediately, one of my favorite verses, 2 Corinthians 13:13, came to mind. Perhaps those three things Paul prayed for the Corinthians could not only help our children discover light in a dark world, but it might also fill us with wonder.

1)    Grace of Jesus

We all maxed-out our sin accounts a long time ago, even though only one infraction prevents a right relationship with God. No matter how hard we tried, we kept piling sin on top of sin. Even if we worked until doomsday, we could never earn enough to pay our bill. We were headed straight to the firing squad. But God sent His Son to pay our bill in full. If you’ve allowed Jesus to pay your bill, your thankfulness overflows from being freed from sin’s penalty. Let children see your joy and laughter, giving Jesus all the credit.

2)    Love of God

If you’ve forgotten to take note of God’s loving ways, spend some time with a child. Their simple ways of showing love will remind you to focus on the little things like flowers, trees, hugs, and bugs. Let children observe your wonder in the love God displayed through His creation.

3)    Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

We never outgrow our need for a teacher. The Holy Spirit teaches us everything we need for life and godliness. Don’t be afraid to show your weakness; give the Spirit room to work. Let the children in your world see you demonstrating love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – even when its hard. Each day we follow the Spirit, the more we become like Jesus. If you are a few steps ahead of some children in your life, remember, they love to play follow the leader.