It’s hard not to be cynical in our world today. Internet ads make ridiculous claims to unwary consumers. Fake testimonials promote bogus products. Glory-seeking preachers claim miraculous healings. One by one, the frauds are exposed, but they’re replaced by new ones just as quickly. Not surprisingly, objective, rational people are left scratching their heads. Why can’t people be more critical? Why don’t they check the facts? Why won’t they listen to science? Enter the gospel stories. While they contain some good teaching and moral advice, the claims of miracles make them hard for a rational person today to take seriously. Walking on water? Feeding the 5,000? Giving sight to the blind? What do you do with these?
I was speaking to someone recently and I could see that they were struggling to understand what felt like mixed signals in the Bible. On the one hand, there are verses that speak of believers as being clean, washed of their sins, forgiven, and made holy. On the other hand, there are verses that speak of God being grieved by our sins and disciplining us for them. When the Bible speaks of our forgiveness and cleansing is God just trying to inspire us? Or when the Bible speaks of the ongoing presence of our sins is God just trying to scare us? When God sees His children is He shaking His head in frustration? Or is He graciously looking away from the areas where we still falter? How should believers understand God’s attitude toward them when they sin? Let me suggest that there are two hats that can help us make sense of the Bible’s competing descriptions of God’s attitude toward us.
As a Christian parent, the greatest desire should be to see your child trust in Christ. But how do you do that? And how do you know what is happening in your child’s faith?
There’s a tendency to oversimplify people’s reasons for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Some people are late adopters with everything. They don’t rush into any decisions let alone ones with such big consequences. Others fear the reliability of a vaccine development process that feels rushed. For others, the decision has been influenced by political division and mistrust. Unfortunately, a huge amount of misinformation has also clouded people’s thinking.
I have deliberately avoided speaking about vaccines because I feel it’s a medical decision and therefore best made in consultation with your doctor, not your pastor. There are some Christians however who have avoided getting the COVID-19 vaccine for spiritual reasons. While believers may disagree on the application of biblical principles, I don’t feel that I’m doing my job as your pastor if I don’t try to make clear some of the related teachings of the Bible, as best I understand them.
Last time I talked about the importance of learning Proverbs with your children. The problem remains though: how do you teach them? Because there are thirty-one chapters, many advocate reading a chapter every day of the month. There’s probably value in that practice, but with younger children, I’m convinced that less is more. Let me share a few of the things that helped us.
