Faith

What do you think faith means to children? I began asking myself asking this question over and over this morning. This week in Good News Club, we asked the kids what they thought it meant to "have faith". And as always, we got a lot of different answers. Of course, there was the typical Sunday school response: "Believe in God!" "Yeah, that's definitly part of it, but what else?" Then we started to get some responses that were closer to what we were looking for. "Believing in something you can't see!" "Trusting in something even though you don't know everything!" OK, now we're getting somewhere. Basically, kids seem to be able to verbally articulate what it means to have faith, but do they really know what it means to have faith in terms of a relationship with God?

We used the analogy of going to a doctor when you're sick or hurt. Most of us have faith that when the doctor gives is a remedy for something, we're going to probably feel better because we trust the doctor. We have enough evidence and proof that they know what they're talking about, right? Kids also have faith and trust in what their parents tell them to do; at least until they become teenagers. So is this kind of faith the same as faith in God?

A person can define what faith means, but their understanding of faith has nothing to do with whether or not they actually have faith. I can tell you that I have faith in a parachute opening when needed, but you'll never catch me skydiving. Does that mean I don't really have faith in the technology of parachutes? I can tell you that I have faith in mind over matter, but I'm not so willing to walk over a pile of hot coals. Do I have less faith than someone who will?

I ask these questions because I think kids just might have a better handle on faith than adults do. Jesus said in the gospel of Mark that "anyone who will not recieve the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." (Mark 10:15) Basically, Jesus was saying that unless you have a simple faith in me, you don't really follow me. Think about that for a minute. Jesus isn't pressing us to have more faith. He is pressing us to have simple faith. It's not a question of the amount of our faith, it's the simplicity of it.

When you get right down to it, kids just believe. We tell them stories about God, who God is and what life is all about, and they take it for what it is. They don't try to reason their way through faith, or attempt to be better because they have stronger faith than another child. They just beleive. What can we learn from this?

Let's face it, we're never going to have all the answers. We're never going to be good ebough. We're always going to have questions, and you know what? Sometimes we're going to find it hard to have faith. But just like my parachute analogy, there is going to be time when we just have to jump out of the plane. We need to say to ourselves, "I may not understand my circumstance. I may not have all the answers. I may not have dotted all the "i"s and crosesd all the "t"s, but there's enough evidence to prove that what I believe is real. There is enough childlike innocence in me to have faith. When we can do this, especially in front of our children, we might find ourselves learning more from them than they learn from us.

True Love

Well, we just celebrated Valentine's Day, so love is in the air, right? And that got me thinking about love and how kids perceive love. So, before you read any further, stop for just a few seconds and think about how much you love your children. Meditate on the depth of your love for them. Remember the events and milestones in their lives that have built the elaborate construct of your memories. Allow yourself to be bathed in these thoughts just for a few seconds. This love is powerful. It's real. It's deep. And it is part of who you are, and who you have become as a parent.

I ask you to do this, because I found myself doing this very thing. This morning, I found myself diving into the depth of my love for my two boys. As I focused on my love for them, I began to realize how incredibly deep it is. In many ways, it is infinite and causes you to wonder how it could possibly have had a beginning and how it could ever end. There is absolutely nothing that could cause me to love me children any less or any more than I do at this very moment. And I am quite sure that if you joined me in this exercise, you would feel very much the same.

In John 3:12-21, Jesus is having a late night conversation with a man named Nicodemus; a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus came to talk with Jesus under the cover of darkness because he didn't want others to know that he was one of His followers. He knew that Jesus had come from God, but had no idea how shallow his understanding was.

For the most part, Nicodemus was a good guy. He was one of Israel's teacher of teachers and an expert of the Law. He followed the teachings of the Law exactly, and encouraged others to follow his example of religious excellence. So, imagine his surprise when Jesus basically tells him that his wisdom, position and good works will not help him make it to Heaven. In this passage, we see Jesus revealing the essence of why He came to earth: love.

In John 3:16, Jesus tells Nicodemus,"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The Greek word used for "love" in this verse is agape. This is the highest form of love that is described in the Bible. When we look at this love in context of what Jesus is saying here, we get a glimpse of the incomprehensible love that God has for us. To imagine that God, the creator, sustainer and owner of this universe, giving up His Son for a sinful and rebellious people, it seems unimaginable.

As I said in the beginning, my love for my children seems to be infinite, and that causes me to think of something else that John said in one of his later letters. "God is love" Think about that. So much of what we know of true love is tied into God's very character. As God is infinite, the love that radiates from Him is infinite and encompasses all that He is.

Children need to know the depth of God's love. They need to see it lived out in an unconditional way, so that they have a healthy context of love. Many of them have heard John 3:16 many times, but do they truly understand how much God loves them? I think that the best way we can communicate this to our children, is by loving them. When they begin to realize how much Mom and Dad love them, they begin to get a glimpse at God infinite love in a practical way.

Tonight on Nightline: Man Turns Water into Wine at Local Wedding

I don't read the newspaper much anymore. I used to love reading the paper. The feel of print as I read through the news of the day. A lot of people say that print is dead, but I still like to flip through the Chronicle from time to time. Either way, I usually find some time to keep up with what's happening in the world around us. This morning I found myself wondering if kids still imagine being newspaper reporters when they grow up?

This week in Good News Club, we talked about the story of Jesus turning water into wine from John 2:1-11. I imagined what it would be like to take the Bible story and and re-write it as if I were reading an article in the local paper. Imagine reading an article from the "Daily Galilean" or "The Jerusalem Times." The headline reads:

"Wedding Guest Turns Water into Wine"

"On Tuesday of this week, a local woman known only as Mary, was in the town of Cana, attending a wedding. A large number of guests, including her son Jesus, were also present as festivities began. Guests at the wedding were reported having a good time until the host ran out of wine. At that point, it seemed that the peaceful celebration might turn into a disaster.

For reasons unknown, some wedding guests approached Jesus, who was from the town of Nazareth, thinking he might have a solution to the problem. When told about the problem, Jesus at first seemed unwilling to do anything, but after some encouragement from his mother, he finally agreed to help.

Eye witnesses at the wedding reported that Jesus instructed some servants to fill several large water jars nearby with water. He then instructed them to dip some of the water out of the jars and take it to the man who was in charge of serving the wine. To the amazement of all, when the wine steward tasted the water, he discovered that the water had, in fact, been turned into wine.

Wedding guests were amazed at the turn of events and said that the wine was the best that they had ever tasted. As a result of this miraculous event, many people began following Jesus everywhere he went, and many believe that he might even be the long-awaited Messiah.

We will continue to follow this story and update you as details become available."

Well, as you can probably tell, writing news articles is not my forte, but it was fun to play around with. It also makes you think a little: what would have been considered the most important aspect of this story? A potential miracle, right? That would be all people would be talking about. Some would believe it as truth, and some would dismiss what happened as coincidence or "unexplained". The funny thing is, just as Jesus performed a miracle by changing the water into wine at the wedding celebration two thousand years ago, he is still working miracles in the hearts and lives of people today, including our kids. Let us remind them of that this weekend as we witness God's miracles all around us.