Jesus Does Not Need to Be Bigger than the Boogie Man!

As Christian we want to bring the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bear upon every moment of our lives. As Christian parents we want to model this for our children. We want them to trust that the death of Christ has atoned for their sins and that His resurrection has brought them everlasting life. We want to keep Jesus in the forefront of our lives and the lives of our children.

There is a great temptation, however, to make Jesus the solution to make-believe problems. With the best of intentions Christian parents counter their children's irrational fears (monsters under the bed, the boogie man, etc.) with, "Remember, Jesus is with you. He will protect you." Eventually the child grows up. They outgrow the boogie man and the monsters under their beds. And, if those are the things that they need Jesus to protect them from, there is a good chance that they will outgrow Jesus too.

Jesus does not save us from make believe danger. He saves us from real danger. He rescues us from every peril of body and soul. Sin, Satan, temptation, illness, death, these are the enemies that are defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus. And they are very real, very deadly, apart from Christ's protection.

So, then how should we respond to the boogie man? Fight make believe with make believe. Give your child a magic pillow that creates a force field around their bed at night to ward off any unsavory creatures of the night. Be creative. Use your imagination. Read a fairy tale or two if you need inspiration.

Allow your imagination to protect your child from their own imagination. At worst they will outgrow the magic pillow along with the monsters under the bed. But they won't outgrow Jesus Christ, who protects them from real danger, who by His death and resurrection covers them in protective armor to defend them from the spiritual forces of darkness.

Comments

  1. Elizabeth AMay 18, 2012 at 11:18 AM

    Josh,

    I love this! Thanks for posting! I am sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM

    Amen and amen. Imagine that, a modern Christian having and actually acknowleging the proper use of imagination.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflections on the Fall of a Pastor

Image
Tullian Tchividjian, the well known pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, has resigned his position.  According to his own statement both he and his wife committed adultery.  This disqualifies him from the pastoral office.  He has willingly acknowledged his affair and peacefully stepped aside. It is a sad day when a pastor must resign his call for any reason, but especially for living an immoral life.  Tchividjian's case gives a great deal of pause for Lutherans in particular since he was highly influenced by Luther's writings and those of contemporary Lutheran scholars such as Robert Kolb.  Tullian, in recent years, has sought to clarify the proper distinction of Law and Gospel in his own preaching as well as to spread that teaching to a wider audience. As Lutherans we have a high view of God's Word in general and of the Gospel in particular.  When a Lutheran pastor falls into temptation does he really need to resign?  Can he not simply be ...
Read more

One Thing Ken Ham Didn't Say, but Should Have

Tonight came the debate between Ken Ham (creationist) and Bill Nye (evolutionist).  All things considered I thought it was a good debate, a debate from which the people who plan out presidential debates could learn a great many things. There was one point toward the end where the moderator, who also did a fine job of remaining neutral, asked the two men questions gathered from the audience.  One question in particular caught my attention.  It was directed at Ken Ham. He was asked if there were any evidence that could be given that would convince him that the Biblical account of creation was false.  I do not recall his exact answer, but effectively he said "no".  No evidence could shake him in his conviction that God created the world in 6 days. As a Christian, as a 6-day creationist, I was disappointed in this.  Mr Ham did not have the questions beforehand.  He did not have the advantage of hindsight (which I have now).  So I don't want to b...
Read more

Why the Resurrection is the Only Answer that Matters

There seem to be some people who are confused as to why the resurrection of Jesus can make or break the argument for a young earth.  On the surface this is not obvious. Why do Christians care how many days it took to create the earth?  I don't.  It could have taken God half a second.  I could have taken Him 40 trillion years.  Why do Christians (myself included) put stock in the fact that Genesis 1 states that it took 6 days? Because Jesus Christ says that the Law and the Prophets (Genesis included) point to Him.  He endorses the Old Testament on several occasions, including a quote of Genesis 2 when discussing marriage and divorce. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, a clear indication that the claims He made about Himself were true, including His endorsements of the Old Testament.  Jesus rose from the dead showing His followers that He really was the Son of God. If Jesus did not rise from the dead we are, as Paul says, to be pitied above...
Read more