Heartprints

Have you ever been frustrated when you see people acting selfish and self-centered? Worse yet, have you ever experienced parents teaching their children to act this way, by modeling a "full-of-oneself" example...that no one else matters...it's all about me...and humility is far from their thoughts and even farther from their behavior.

In a just few days children all over the U.S. will dress up in costumes and go from house to house to receive a treat from participating neighbors.  After the sun goes down on October 31st, sidewalks everywhere will be full of children dressed up in all sorts of costumes…walking around the neighborhoods and knocking on doors in an effort to receive as many treats as they can carry.

I love everything about the fall…the crisp cool weather, pumpkins on the porch, leaves falling off the trees, acorns crunching in the driveway. Soon it will be time for the first fire in the fireplace.

This time of year takes me back to my childhood when Mom would tell us stories, usually in the form of poems. She memorized hundreds of them as a young girl. I can still hear her voice …

Scorching hot, as to turn the skin into a dehydrated vegetable, the desert became a battlefield between two people. One person arrived to the one who has been waiting. Mere sentences describe days of battle between the two people. Prior to the battle, thousands of years had passed, leaving this prophesied story left to be like an old wise tale, fun to listen to but nothing to live by (Genesis 3:15). What’s the story? What’s the tale? Jesus arrived to the earth and Satan hates it, let the earthly battle begin! Has our children’s ministry allowed the gospel to sound like an old wise tale, filled with facts fit for campfire story times and something fun to listen to every once and a while?

How often in our culture today do we ascribe worth to an individual because of what they have “done” and not because of “who they are”.  We say they deserve respect and honor, but do we let that statement stand?  Soon we will be faced with election day and daily we are bombarded with the list of who should be elected. More often than not it is not because of their character but because of what they had “done”. The TV ads gloss over their character and only feed us with the list of personalities who have paid for their ads and in return have gleaned million dollar projects that provide for their districts. The ads tell us that this person or that person is worthy. Does that word leave a question in your mind? Worthy because of (fill in the blank). 

As a child growing up, I loved to play the game "Hide and Seek."  My sister, my cousins, and I especially liked playing the game at night...in the dark.  We knew that if we played in the dark our chances of not being found were greater.  Many times the one who was playing as the seeker would not be able to find the rest of us.  After about ten minutes we would run out from our hiding places and hope that we would not get tagged by the seeker.

“The B I B L E, yes, that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B I B L E.”

I attended a Children’s Ministry conference at DBU a couple of years ago where the key note speaker revealed some startling statistics.  In his presentation, he offered the results of a poll taken where conservative evangelical Christians were asked about basic ‘Christian’ practices.  One of the questions asked how many of those polled used the Bible as their moral compass for decisions in life.  While I do not recall exact numbers, I do recall the number was quite high, in excess of 75%.  That tells me more than 3 out of 4 conservative evangelical Christians polled do indeed use the Bible as their moral compass.  Another question asked of those being polled was whether or not they read the bible during the week (any time other than Sunday morning church).   While this response did not surprise me, it did reveal a disconnect that I suspect is occurring among believers today.

Walking through the squeezed-in streets, some wide enough for pedestrians and others wide enough to be a “two wagon” road, a Roman citizen begins to observe a normal day in the streets of Rome, Italy. The magnified aroma of incense mixed with various animal sacrifices clouds up to blend with the sights of the marketplaces filled with small figurines representing the gods and goddesses of the time. Each citizen attends to his or her responsibility. Some worshipping the idol and others buying and selling goods. The area is filled with the morning noises of conversation, traders, buyers, mother’s looking for her children, heavy animal breathing from pulling the farm carts in from the nearby village fields and the old guy yawning as he passes by.

Blacksmiths are hard at work, clanging their hammers at the new metal mold of a sword for the soldier and steaming the coals for the upcoming farmer’s tools. In the hearts and minds of each citizen lurks the need to worship an idol in order to appease the gods, gain good status to prosper for the day, repay debts or find satisfaction beyond the dreary earthly life. The exchange of emperor engraved coins for payment strikes memory recall that the Emperor is ever so close, one of the gods, to be worshipped and ready at any moment to unleash a vicious attack toward any siege against his empire. The gods seemed real, alive, powerful but sometimes extremely distant to citizens. No matter how real, the end result of the Roman Empire proved that the gods were not real, alive, powerful or anywhere to be found. Will our children live to see the downfall of their life like the Roman Empire, to have only concluded their Jesus was fake - never real, alive, powerful or anywhere to be found?

Have you ever been to a basketball game?  Several years ago, my husband and I would travel with our son, Adam, to his basketball games in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It was in Dallas that he attended a private Christian school and played basketball for the high school team.  Adam was a dedicated player who was instructed well by his coach.  He was trained in the skills of basketball, he was instructed to demonstrate teamwork, and he was encouraged to show good sportsmanship at all of his games. Through proper training and appropriate instruction our son, Adam, was equipped to play basketball and participate with other players on his team.