I showed Kyle this video last week, when I chanced it on a Christian blog that I regularly visit. The scenes in the video are real and were consolidated since the start of 2011 from various news channels.
Some of you may wonder why would I show a 4 year old these (possibly nightmare inducing visuals). It was not done on purpose, I was watching this clip on Youtube when the little boy came along, caught glimpses of it and insisted on watching the clip from the beginning to the end. I figure that this could be educational for him, as I feel that a child of a certain age should learn to be more aware of the world around him.
The video gave a really sombering perspective of what is happening around us, the natural disasters and dead wildlife etc. Every other week these days, there will be an earthquake, flood and typhoon in some place, and most with a dire aftermath. Us humans tend to get a little immune when these things happen too often, but I think seeing all that happened since the beginning of this year, should really get us to sit up and realise this – Is the world really the same as before and could all these be getting worse?
The first question that Kyle ask after video clip ended was, "Will God save us from these things?"
My answer to him was undoubtly, "Yes of course, as long as we believe that God has send a Saviour Jesus to us who saves us from these terrible things that are happening to and will continue to get worse on earth."
His reply, "Yes I believe in Jesus and I know He will save us."
Such an unwavering pronounce of faith. How many of us can have that same childlike faith that a child has when it comes to believing in something that we do not see or touch?
As a parent, one of my biggest hope for my child is to know God. My faith means alot to me, and have given me alot of hope and strength in my life, thus I hope that my child experiences the same. Some may say this is indoctrination, shouldn't a child have the freedom to choose what he believes in?
Indoctrination is the process of inculcating ideas and attitudes, and it differs from education in the sense that an indoctrinated person is expected not to question or examine the doctrine they have learnt.
I will expect him to question or examine what he has been taught. In fact when the time comes, if he still doubts the truth about what he has learnt about God and life, I will challenge him to ask God Himself show Him how real He is. Of course 'real' in this case really goes beyond only seeing and touching…as I am an example of how God Himself has proven to be so real in my life, without having to see or touch Him physically.
I don't believe that our lives are created by chance or by a collision of atoms/big bang theory.
I hope that by helping my child know his Creator, it will help him to understand the purpose of his existence in this world. Training a child to know God is cumulative. I started reading bible stories to Kyle when he was barely 1 and a half and make a point to consistently set aside devotion time daily with him before bedtime. These resources have been really useful to use during our devotion sessions; The Beginners' Bible, The Jesus Storybook, Gotta Have God Devotions for 2-5 boys, The One Year devotional for Preschoolers. Kyle's favorites are the short bible stories from the first 2 titles.
We often talk about God, His creations, His purpose for our lives. I thank God that He has been answering my daily prayers of helping Kyle grow in wisdom and revelation of Him. Sometime last year, Kyle dreamt of Jesus and 2 weeks ago, he experienced another dream of Jesus again. Some of you who are Christians will know that hearing or seeing Jesus in your dreams is not such an easy thing to have, even when u do ask for it in your prayers.
These days I am really amazed by the things that he says about God and his level of understanding about what it means to believe in God. Often, I am being entertained by original compositions like these…
Untitled from Rachel T on Vimeo.
His question to me that evening after singing a barrage of songs about God and Jesus was, "God is very happy to hear me sing songs about Him, isn't it?"
"Yes, for sure, definitely!"
His reply, "I love to sing songs about God!"
It is really hard not to talk or sing about Him when He has grabbed your heart ever so tightly in His.
Timely reminder. I haven’t sat down or did any devotion with the girls for the longest time. Which is a shame because I’m a Sunday school teacher, yet other than Sunday we don’t have a prayerful life. Must get back on track.
Glad that my post served as a reminder for u. We do get so caught up in the busyness of life that we tend to forget what is important. For me, one of the most important things that I can impart to my child is to know his Creator and have a living relationship with Him daily.