Why should I bother teaching my children about creation? If I do, won’t I risk subjecting them to ridicule by their teachers and peers? Sadly, too many Christian parents use this rational to bypass teaching this very important lesson to their children. But what else is as stake when we pass over the first passage in the Bible?
First, we reduce the credibility of the Scriptures in your children’s eyes. When the very first passages are discarded, we set the stage to discard anything and everything else that follows. We set ourselves up as our own authority on the very nature of God and of his Word. We have allowed our own will to reign supreme over what is holy.
Second, we miss the opportunity to teach our children that they are created in God’s image – that their lives matter and they have purpose. One would have to be an ostrich to not see what is happening in our society today as children and youth are taught that they are simply animals that came about by chance, one step higher than monkeys in the scheme of things. The only things we can hope for, according to the current world view, is what we can maneuver out of our own resources; so think for yourself and climb up on the backs of those around you with little concern for others’ welfare. Everyone is out for him/herself. If you need guidance, look within yourself, or pick and choose over all the free “spirits” out there. The Holy Spirit might be out there, but it is one of many in equal value. The God of the Bible is one of many gods that are all placed on a shelf and considered to be equal (or perhaps our God is the only truly inferior one since we believe he is superior to the others – terribly intolerant of us.)
Christians of all ages need solid grounding in God’s Word. We need the confidence that comes from knowing we are created in the image of God. A Christian’s faith at any age depends on knowing that God knows them inside out and loves them because he made them. We develop trust in God when we recognize that because God knows us so well, he also knows how to make us truly happy, even when the little things that come our way aren’t what we in our human minds thought we wanted. We can trust our future to his plan that will always be more glorious than what we might dream up on our own.
This post is the second in a series of four articles on the theme of the creation. I would like to see churches who do their own VBS curriculum consider using some of these ideas in their VBS this summer.
Article 1 – Basic Science in Genesis
Article 2 – Created in God’s image (this article)
Article 3 – Making a Creation Quilt from Coloring Pages – youth activity
Article 4 – Our Awesome God – a VBS plan
The Creation by Janice D. Green can be purchased at theHoneycomb Adventures Shop on Etsy.com.
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