Each day is a new adventure and every comment my kids make is another lesson. It is true. Their lack of education is actually to their benefit as they look at life through an unfiltered lens. Children have a way of distilling things down to the truth. In other words, they tell it like it is. Tuesday was a rainy day here and at one point my 5-year-old son told me that the cloud was crying. That was not what technically happens when it rains, but it is how he understands it. They live without pretense and with a simple faith. They don’t get too far ahead of God because they live right in the moment. Each moment is an important moment to them and they are completely engaged in life.
I remember watching one of those air disaster shows where they chronicled a plane crash in Columbia. The pilots got disoriented in unfamiliar terrain at night. They ended up unintentionally flying the plane right into the mountain. When they were dissecting this disaster, one of the experts made the comment that you should never let the plane get ahead of you. In other words, as the pilot, you should always be one step in front of the plane and always know exactly where you are. If you consider the way this works with God, it is a remarkable parallel. As a child, this trust thing comes quite easily. God is the pilot and whatever comes during the day is fine. Then as the child gets older, there is a power struggle that takes place as the teenager now thinks they can fly the plane with no training at all. This is a dangerous situation because there is far more to flying an airplane than just sitting in the seat.
This power struggle comes from two different, but related, places in our life. First of all, it is our sin nature that wants to crown us Lord of all. There is only one God and we are not Him, so this creates natural tension and messes things up. Second of all, it is a result of ignorance. If people really were students of the Word of God, they would see how important it is to keep God as the center of our life. We would see that the only firm foundation is in Jesus Christ, not in our own strength or abilities. The other thing is that there are so many examples of people in the Bible who have gone on ahead of God and have had very serious problems happen to them.
I bring this up because at one point Tuesday these things came together right in front of me. Before bed on Tuesday night we were watching a DVD series called “Buck Denver asks, “What’s in the Bible?” If you remember the other day I wrote about the relevance of the Bible in 2012, so this relates to that. The Bible is still relevant, in fact it is the most relevant book out there. These videos teach the Bible in a very fun, creative and exciting way to kids. My kids were learning about the Pentateuch and what it means to live with a Holy God. Some of their innocence came out again as they said that they won’t disobey God. My 5-year-old said that he would never do those things to God. I know that seems prideful, but he really doesn’t want to disobey God. He does disobey, believe me, but my point is that simple faith is such a refreshing part of parenting.
It is so important that kids learn these things from a young age. I was very encouraged to be able to watch this with them and see them really get some of these deep truths. The foundation is important because without a firm foundation the building (person) falls. If we want to do something about seeing lives changed by the power of God’s Word, we need to teach it to our kids. This type of DVD series is helping parents do this with their children and it even helps adults learn some information about the Bible. I know that a lot of adults would say that we can’t teach kids such heavy topics like sin, judgement and what the Pentateuch is, but my kids are all under 8 years old and they were enjoying it.
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6
You can find these videos and more information about them here. It might be a helpful resource to you or for your church. No matter what you use, make sure the Bible is taught well!
No Throw Aways 
I think that for children and new Christians, it’s easy to say we won’t disobey God because we can’t envision why we would want to. It isn’t until later that we realize obedience is not such a simple process. Hence all the Old Testament stories about disobedience and consequences.
It is not an easy process, but it is a necessary process. You are right about the Old Testament. They sure give us some examples on how not to do it.
Remember the TV show Dallas? I used to say it was a great example of people getting what they deserve. Unfortunately, you’re probably too young to remember it. Larry Hagman played a scheming and conniving cheating man and everyone treated him like that too. .
Sounds like a good series. I’ll have to look that up. Talking in SS Sunday about God’s admonition to teach these commands to your children when sitting down, when rising up….. or ALL THE TIME. If God is truly at the center of our lives, talk of Him and His precepts will pour out of our mouths (and our lives) all the time. Oh to be as a little child!
It is a really good series. They are coming out with a few more as well.