Explaining sanctification to a 7 year old is really... clarifying. I think all we who claim to be Christians should at some point try describing the process of "being sanctified" to a child.
It was a really precious moment. And quite frankly I wasn't expecting it. Actually I was tired, cold and day-dreaming about when I'd get to be in a quiet house with sleeping kids sipping a cup of vanilla roiboos tea latte, when a sweet(and very smart I might add) seven year old friend of mine came up to me at the bleachers and declared, "Uhm. Mrs. Sheila. I don't think I'm a Christian anymore."
Ding Dong. Publishers Clearinghouse just knocked on your door and you're in your PJ's Sheila!
I turned and looked the serious and concerned little guy in the eye and asked why he didn't think he was a Christian anymore. He explained that even though he believed in Jesus as his Savior he was still doing things he knew were wrong. He sited an example from school today and said, "I still joke about things in a bad way and I know its wrong."
My heart was instantly rejoicing!
First, here I was in a most un-suspecting moment, given a priceless opportunity to invest in eternity. Always be ready.
Secondly, the tenderness of this precious boy's heart! So ready to confess. So willing to see the error of his natural ways. Oh that we would all be so childlike! We can't enter the kingdom any other way!
Third, NOTHING else satisfies like doing what your Creator and Savior has given you the grace to do! When you do what you were made to do you can understand why Jesus said, "I have food you know nothing about," leaving his followers scratching their heads wondering where He found chow while they were gone.
I had been feasting myself on crackers with cream cheese, watching my son play baseball on a beautiful spring evening, but when this golden moment was before me and I took it, I tasted the pleasures of heaven. I think I inhaled a whiff of the joy of the Kingdom while I labored in the Master's field for a few minutes.
"You know honey, the very fact that you are troubled by the joke you made at school today is evidence of the work of God's Spirit in you! Being a Christian is kind of like planting a seed in your garden. When you plant a seed what do you see?"
"Dirt."
"Yeah. You see dirt for awhile. And then pretty soon you start to see a little green pop out from the dirt. But even before you saw the green sprout, under the ground that seed was doing its work. Eventually, the seed will grow and grow..."
"I KNOW! I KNOW! I KNOW what your saying now Mrs. Sheila! When Jesus came to live inside of me I couldn't really see it. But pretty soon He'll get bigger and bigger!!!"
Aroma of heaven. Joy unspeakable.
"Yes sweetheart. You just keep telling Jesus thank you for dying for all your sins. You keep telling Him your sorry when you know you did wrong. You keep following Jesus, trusting Him and He'll just get bigger and bigger in you!"
It was a really precious moment. And quite frankly I wasn't expecting it. Actually I was tired, cold and day-dreaming about when I'd get to be in a quiet house with sleeping kids sipping a cup of vanilla roiboos tea latte, when a sweet(and very smart I might add) seven year old friend of mine came up to me at the bleachers and declared, "Uhm. Mrs. Sheila. I don't think I'm a Christian anymore."
Ding Dong. Publishers Clearinghouse just knocked on your door and you're in your PJ's Sheila!
I turned and looked the serious and concerned little guy in the eye and asked why he didn't think he was a Christian anymore. He explained that even though he believed in Jesus as his Savior he was still doing things he knew were wrong. He sited an example from school today and said, "I still joke about things in a bad way and I know its wrong."
My heart was instantly rejoicing!
First, here I was in a most un-suspecting moment, given a priceless opportunity to invest in eternity. Always be ready.
Secondly, the tenderness of this precious boy's heart! So ready to confess. So willing to see the error of his natural ways. Oh that we would all be so childlike! We can't enter the kingdom any other way!
Third, NOTHING else satisfies like doing what your Creator and Savior has given you the grace to do! When you do what you were made to do you can understand why Jesus said, "I have food you know nothing about," leaving his followers scratching their heads wondering where He found chow while they were gone.
I had been feasting myself on crackers with cream cheese, watching my son play baseball on a beautiful spring evening, but when this golden moment was before me and I took it, I tasted the pleasures of heaven. I think I inhaled a whiff of the joy of the Kingdom while I labored in the Master's field for a few minutes.
"You know honey, the very fact that you are troubled by the joke you made at school today is evidence of the work of God's Spirit in you! Being a Christian is kind of like planting a seed in your garden. When you plant a seed what do you see?"
"Dirt."
"Yeah. You see dirt for awhile. And then pretty soon you start to see a little green pop out from the dirt. But even before you saw the green sprout, under the ground that seed was doing its work. Eventually, the seed will grow and grow..."
"I KNOW! I KNOW! I KNOW what your saying now Mrs. Sheila! When Jesus came to live inside of me I couldn't really see it. But pretty soon He'll get bigger and bigger!!!"
Aroma of heaven. Joy unspeakable.
"Yes sweetheart. You just keep telling Jesus thank you for dying for all your sins. You keep telling Him your sorry when you know you did wrong. You keep following Jesus, trusting Him and He'll just get bigger and bigger in you!"
Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. - Exodus 23:30
And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. -2 Corinthians 3:18
"The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it." - Isaiah 55:10-11
Quieted,
Sheila
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