What's the Message?

Taryn is a talker.  In fact, she rarely stops talking.  When we drive around in the car, there is a constant stream of words coming from her mouth.  I will admit...sometimes I tune her out.  But I try to listen in on her ramblings, and sometimes they make me stop and think.

The other night we were driving home from somewhere and she was going on and on about the wise man and the foolish man.

"And the wiseman, he built his house on the rock and the rock is like Jesus.  And the foolish man, he built his house on the sand and he had lots of friends and was having a big party and the wise he didn't have any friends and was alone on the rock."

I think -- well that's interesting...so I ask her, "Why do you say that the wiseman didn't have any friends?"

"That's what the pictures in the book show. The foolish man had lots of friends at his house."

So I say, "I bet the wise man who built his life on Jesus had lots of friends too."

To which she says, "Yeah, maybe he was best friends with the foolish man."

Well, I'm not sure about that, but she starts in on something else. So I let it go.

But it made me think about what message our kids get -- not from the words of the parable of the wise and foolish builders, but from the pictures that are in children's books.  We also have a book about Noah -- and it demonstrates the terrible evil in the world with a picture of people all together, eating grapes and drinking, while Noah is over by his ark hammering away.

Do these pictures send the message to children that Christians really shouldn't have any fun or any friends?  That only the bad people are the ones who have parties?

I hope not.  I think Jesus loves it when His children have just plain old good fun!  I am sure Jesus had times of fun on earth -- moments spent laughing and enjoying the company of His disciples.  His first miracle occured at a wedding party.  Fellowship and community are wonderful gifts from God.

Or, on the flip side, maybe these picture books send the message that Christians are to live lives that are different, set apart.  Lives that don't conform to the world and aren't measured by what man thinks but by what God thinks.

That's a really good message to...but I'm afraid our little 5-year-old social butterfly might miss that point. 

In the end, however, both Noah and the wise man are saved from floods.  Hopefully, that's the message she'll walk away with -- "Build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!"   Not who was having a party!