A conversation I overheard this morning reminded me of the need Jeremiah has for a Savior and in turn my need for one as well.Jeremiah: How do I get my sin back?
Aaron: What do you mean?
J: You know, the sin that Jesus took. How do I get it back?
A: proceeds to give a short, 4 year old appropriate narrative of sin, how it keeps us from God and how Jesus righteousness covers it when he died on the cross ending with, do you want to be with God?
J: No, I don't think so.
The theology of total depravity (everyone is born sinful) is not a happy thing to think about. People tend to want to avoid it saying that they believe people are basically good. However, I know that I have only to look into my own heart to know that aside from Christ's work in me my sins of selfishness, anger, laziness and pride (just to name a few) would take total control over my life. Having children has shown me the sinfulness that lurks in human hearts on a totally different level.
Jeremiah's statement this morning shows with simple childlike truth what the Bible teaches us. That even our salvation is not a work of our own. If left on our own in our sin we would not even want to be with God. Yet, God, out of infinite love, reaches to us and saves us. He uses the Spirit to turn our hearts toward Him.
There is not doubt that my children need a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is not guaranteed that they will love Jesus just because they are growing up in a Christian home, attending church every Sunday, learning to be polite, and being taught how to be "good people." As a mother I pray every day that my boys will be brought by the Spirit to see the depth of their sin, their need for a Savior. I pray they become men who love God more than anything on this earth and serve Him with their whole hearts and lives. The conversation I heard this morning reminded me that these prayers are not just nice "Christian-eze" prayers that I do because I have to. I was reminded that there is battle raging around us that we cannot see with physical eyes and the souls of my children are at stake.
1 comment:
when we had austin baptized our pastor said something that i will never forget... he told us to tell our kids the gospel DAILY. they need it as much as we do! i have a lot of friends who assume that their kids are born-again christians, and i think it can be really dangerous to live like that. not that we do anything better than anyone else, but we search for signs of grace in their little hearts (and are pleased as punch when we find them!)
jess
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