This morning during my time with the Lord, I was pouring out before Him my desire to be fully whole. I do long for the day of my resurrection. I long for the day that I can forget sin; not just be freed from its power, but freed from its presence and free from its memory.
As I poured this out before my Lord He took me to Romans 6 – 8 in my heart and reminded me that it was coming. Then I responded with yes, I know Lord, but why did You allow me to be surrounded with so much regret? And in my heart He reminded me, that it was not without a purpose. My past regrets fuel the desire to teach the children He has placed in my life to discern. Hindsight is 20/20 and I indeed see clearly now.
As I began to ponder teaching the children my mind returned to our Day One VBS lesson. During this lesson I shared several photos and asked the children who was good and who was evil…
As I placed up on the power point pictures of Batman and the Joker, Superman and Lex Luther, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry, I asked who is evil and who is good. The kids all shouted out loudly and confidently who was evil and who was good.
Then I placed up a picture of these two…
I asked who was evil and who was good… and the kids just sat there. Some quietly chose a side, but no one shouted loudly or confidently. They simply were not sure.
I used this as an opportunity to share how sometimes it is easy to discern what is evil and what is good… but many times it is not.
We moved on after this, as I then began the lesson of teaching about the two kingdoms on this earth, and who rules them.
Today I want to go back to Tom and Jerry. One of my jobs as a parent is not simply to encourage my children to read the Bible, but to teach them how to wield the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, the Bible. One of the best and easiest places to do this is with using the Word to discern what they put before their eyes and in their ears.
Don’t just tell them they can’t watch something… show them in the Word why you take that stand. Don’t just tell them this is good and this is evil. Show them in the Word of God. This teaches them to use the Word of God to define their standard.
Use God’s Word, not just yours… because one day you will not be there. One day you will mess up. One day they might doubt you… but God’s Word never changes.
So let’s use Tom and Jerry as an example.
How do we discern who is good and who is evil as we look at the two cartoon enemies.
Let’s go to the Word…
I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”
John 10:1-11
Now let’s the discern the facts of Tom and Jerry.
Both Tom and Jerry live in a house.
Neither Tom nor Jerry own the house nor did they build the house.
They are in someone else’s house. Now of Tom and Jerry which one enters in the door of the house as a guest of the owner? Yes, Tom. Which one sneaks in another way? Yep, Jerry.
Which one is there to protect and honor the owner of the house? Yep, that’s right… Tom. Which one is there to steal from the owner of the house? Yep, right again… Jerry.
Which one is allowed to freely move about within the house with the full knowledge of the owner of the house and is there to help protect the owner and the house? Yep, Tom. Which one hides in the walls of the house and only comes out when the owner of the house is away? Yep, Jerry.
So according to the facts and the truth of the Word of God… who is evil and who is good?
Now as we watch the cartoon which one does the cartoon attempt to convince you is evil?
Do you see what I am getting at?
Do you see how important it is that your child can wield the Sword… not just look at it?
We live in an upside down world… and it is only going to get worse as the end of the age draws closer. It is imperative that our children can discern what is true and what is a lie, what is real and what is deception, what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil… for the line is getting more and more blurred in the world around us.
My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment.
Hang on to them,
for they will refresh your soul.
Proverbs 3:21-22
******************************************
Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of theLord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
Hosea 14:9