B and I enjoyed a quick trip to the museum this afternoon…it really is a fantastic (air conditioned) place to go to burn off some energy (and a pass it totally worth it, it pays for itself in just a few visits).
Today, we spent the majority of our time in the indoor and outdoor play areas. Saying that B enjoys the outdoor water play area would be an understatement….because he LOVES it! He walks around the water area and watches in awe as the big kids play, while occasionally splashes in the water himself.
After B’s shirt became completely saturated with water and his little waddle of a walk got rather droopy we headed inside the museum to cool off and explore a little before heading home.
I decided to let B explore by walking and just followed him as I pushed the empty stroller. B became rather fascinated with an exhibit that had an underwater like sculpture…so I followed him inside. B and I quickly found ourselves in a miniature movie theater…and the teacher in me decided to see if B might be interested in watching the show…
That’s when it all hit me…
As the lights dimmed, the narrator of the movie began to talk about a large burst of energy that happened millions and millions of years ago…the narrator went on to talk about how the oceans and land masses formed over several million years. My initial response was to walk out because I believe in Creation and the Bible doesn’t reveal God’s handiwork as taking millions of years to come into existence…but as I turned to watch B, he was totally entranced by the bright lights and noises of the show.
It was at that point that I realized how difficult it will be to raise our children in such a way that they are taught absolute truth but also not sheltered from what others around them might believe. I want our kids to have discerning hearts and minds to be able to hear other peoples’ opinions and beliefs, to not judge but instead take it back to Scripture to discern if it is right or wrong.
C and I won’t be able to hover over our kids’ every move. We won’t be able to sweep our little ones out of every situation or always rescue them from hearing or seeing things we Biblically don’t agree with. We won’t always be able to dictate what they might hear or even read some day.
Realizing this is like being hit by a ton of bricks. Our job as believers and believing parents is to be living in the world, but not living of the world…but as a parent it seems so hard, the world is a scary place and we want nothing more than to protect our precious little ones minds from untruth…
Matthew 5:13-15 reads:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it give light to everyone in the house.”
Being salty is a major responsibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly. So if we are the “salt of the earth”, are we risking losing our saltiness and our kids’ saltiness by choosing to live in our own little “Christian” vacuums, where we stay away from anything of the world? Even outings to the museum?
I so desire for our kids to learn absolute truth, to back everything they see, hear, read or are taught with Scripture and to be a light and salt to others who may have differing opinions and beliefs. I humbly admit that I am not good at this in my own life. I trust people entirely too often and don’t always back up things I hear, read or see with Scripture. I often cringe at the thought of jumping out of my own vacuum of a comfort zone…(hence my initial thought to high tail it out of the museum’s movie.)..but am humbly realizing that that isn’t God’s best for me or our family.
This lesson at the museum has taught me that we need to be covering every aspect of our kiddos life in prayer, even now when they are little. We need to ask for protection over their eyes, ears, brains and hearts…and pray that they will learn Scripture and have hearts that desire to seek after absolute truth and discern what is right and what is wrong.
What a task! Here’s to salt and light!
Happy Friday. Drink every part of the weekend up…that’s B’s motto in this photo…
Be blessed.
I want our kids to have discerning hearts and minds to be able to hear other peoples’ opinions and beliefs, to not judge but instead take it back to Scripture to discern if it is right or wrong.
ReplyDeleteCuts like a knife... that sums it up perfectly.