Funerals, kids, and what you have to be to get into heaven...

The preacher was asking the kids who were at the front of the church for the kids sermon what they needed to be to get to heaven.  He did not get the desired response such as "born again" or  "believer"  instead, one kid, who saw the world in black and white terms perked up, “Pastor, you gotta be dead!”    

            We as parents and leaders of children can easily think that we should shield our children from anything to do with death.  It is hard to know what to say to a child when their pet has died, much less a grandparent or a parent.  We so often fall for giving them some nice sounding cliches that we  would be hard pressed to explain.  For instance- God doesn't take Grandpa to heaven because "he needed a fishing buddy" that kind of mushy talk may make a kid feel good, but it is problematic because it makes God needy and ultimate selfish.   Or we may say... "God wanted another angel so he took ______ " We don't become angels in heaven when we die.. really!  Don't demean what it means to be a human by turning us into angels.  We are human...and will always be human. We will one day receive a resurrected body like Jesus has.  Till then believers are in the presence of God.  God became flesh in Jesus- he did not become an angel. 

            Remember that the goal of being a parent is not to make our kids comfortable or life easy for them. We want to give them the ability to live as they were made to live- people in relationship with God.  Death comes as a result of sin.  The only solution for sin is Jesus Christ.  Without Jesus we have no solution for sin.  With him the sin and death problem is solved. God’s word gives us the promise that we have hope for this life and the next. Death does not have the last word.  Jesus promises us eternal life and this life is in Him. Heaven is not a place we have to go to, we get to go.   So death is hard and it stings- sometimes very hard- but Jesus is with us and will be there at the bottom of the sadness. 

            Talk with your kids about death.  Take them to funerals.  Don’t shield them from the reality of sin and all its ugliness. They will then be open to hear the good news of Jesus and the beautiful hope of eternity as precious and sweet, good news for them. 

Sports and sinners.....

         

Those who know me, know that I love sports, both playing and watching.  I cut out clippings of the Minnesota Vikings in the 70’s and made scrapbooks.  I died a thousand deaths during the Vikes Super Bowl losses.  I screamed shouts of joy when the Twins won the World Series in ‘87 and ’91.  If Bud Grant would run for president I think I would vote for him.  We need some of his no nonsense leadership.  My dream when I was younger was to play a sport professionally. Then my talent (lack of) got in the way. I just gave up the dream a year ago.  Some of us are slow to accept the facts.

            I believe athletics, all competition for that matter, reveals character- it shows us ourselves.  I remember  getting so angry at losing the game of Monopoly to my cousin’s or siblings when we would play as kids.  The world domination game of Risk reveals my love of winning like few board games.   During competition we tend to blame others. We think we deserve special treatment.  We think something is okay if we can get by with it. (sorry.. it is a foul even when it is not called…) We think wearing a pair of sneakers allows us to speak harshly to another person with a whistle.  I don’t see that the Bible allows us to act one way on the basketball court and another way in the church lobby.  Do we tell our kids to “go ahead and cheat on the test... the teacher is letting you get by with it today”   Really?  "Go ahead and steal the candy.. the clerk is blind...."   Huh??  Aren’t we called to love our neighbor… even when we are competing against them?  Isn’t the referee our neighbor?

            The temptation for some followers of Jesus is to abandon sports.  I would encourage God’s people to redeem them. Keep them in their place, sports are not God. We don’t let sport dictate our families worship patterns.  We say no to a traveling team. People have done it before. What will it profit a man if he should gain the whole world (a good jump shot) and then forfeit his soul?

              Talk with your kids about what is going on in a game, look beyond the final score and see what is happening in your own soul and the soul of your children.  Issues of pride, grace, patience, fairness are there– then talk about how games show us our need of a Savior.  Sin is revealed.  That is okay.  In fact, I would argue that we are better for seeing what we are than pretending we are something we are not.  Tell your kids how thankful you are that Jesus has come for you. Then return to the game and treat as it is…. a game.