Heavenly Glimpses Blog, 2011
My oldest two and I snuggle—all three curled up on the couch with the green lambswool blanket over us. At six and four, they seem hungry for truth and to know who God created them to be.I read the second story of The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, “The Terrible lie.”
I already like how this book tells the stories in a much more captivating way than others. And this particular story prompts discussion that has been on my heart and mind these past days.
I’ve wondered how we can crush a lie and impress truth that will make a heart difference in their choices.
The snake’s words hissed into her ears and sunk down deep into her heart, like poison. Does God love me? Eve wondered. Suddenly she didn’t know anymore…And a terrible lie came into the world.
The Jesus Storybook Bible
I’ve wondered how they will discern the truth when they walk out the front door. Does what we do and talk about within these four walls sink in?
I wonder this because there is a liar, the father of lies, and if he can’t get to them within these four walls, when they walk out that door, it’s lurking around every corner, within every person that has believed a lie and whether we recognize it or not, they—just like we—walk onto a battlefield every. single. day.
There is but one weapon that defeats the enemy’s schemes and rescues us from tangled snares, and wouldn’t we be appallingly foolish not to arm our children with it?
I tell them about that battlefield, like the battles they’ve watched in Narnia, only unseen and raging in their minds. I remind them who God created them to be—God’s warrior and God’s princess.
My son sits upright. Don’t all boys want to fight for something and little girls to be rescued?
Yet we are not strong enough to fight that battle. Our children are not strong enough.
There is but one weapon that defeats the enemy’s schemes and rescues us from tangled snares, and wouldn’t we be appallingly foolish not to arm our children with it?
Scripture crushes a lie. It is living and active and in it contains the weapon that defeats, and the power that rescues.
More than “Please” and “Thank you” and “Yes, mom;” more than a clean room and teeth, they need armor!
I ask rhetorically how they can overcome lies that lurk when a Bible is not handy if what it contains is truly the weapon that crushes the evil that is a gazillion times more powerful than they are?
Just days ago, I observed a short YouTube video by John Piper, Why Memorize Scripture. Upon finishing the four-minute clip, my heart gasped:
This is what they need! More than “Please” and “Thank you” and “Yes, mom;” more than a clean room and teeth, they need armor! Because the fruit of rules, etiquette, and hygiene are all pleasing yet have no power. Those things, though necessary, won’t save my children from the enemy’s blow. But the fruit of His Word gives life. Defeats. Rescues. Saves.
We talk about how we will be more diligent to memorize scripture and hide it in our hearts so that we can be equipped to draw from God’s truth anytime we feel uncertain of what is true or tempted by the whisper of a lie in our hearts.
They both run downstairs as fast as they can, gather their bibles and race back up with what you would think was a brand new, exquisite sword or a glistening crown!
They are hungry to know just who God created them to be and they stand there equipped with the weapon that promises victory.
