A Different Perspective on Jesus

We're finishing our basement. Actually, we've been working on finishing our basement for about the past six years, but the past couple of months, my husband and I have been putting a lot more effort into it.

Last night, I needed to paint the drywall that's going on the ceiling, and my youngest daughter decided she wanted to help. Now, this is definitely one of those tasks that was going to take longer with her help than without. I was tired and just wanted to get it done, but I had been promising her she could help me paint for a while, so out to the garage we went.

I took up my paint pole and showed my daughter how to roll the paint onto the drywall. As I was doing that, she began to copy my motions and said "I'm imitating you." As she said that, into my mind popped the thought that we need to be imitators of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

You know, last night I was tired. My kids were tired. It had been a tough day. The last thing I really wanted to do was teach my child something. I almost didn't grab that teachable moment with my daughter. I almost let it pass. In my mind, I had already said, "Not now, God." But the Holy Spirit kept prompting me to talk with my daughter about being imitators of Christ. So, as I handed over my paint pole and tried not to get side-swiped with the paint roller, I asked my daughter who we should imitate.

Her answer was quick and simple -- God. As we talked about what that meant and how Jesus was a physical example for us to follow, I asked my daughter how Jesus treated others. We've been working a lot on controlling our words and being an encourager to others the past few weeks. I asked her how Jesus talked to other people. Her answer made me sit up and take notice.

"He used nice words," she said. "But sometimes he was kind of harsh."

Wow, I thought. Here my 8-year-old had noticed something that I had never really put a lot of thought into. When you look at the words of Jesus, He never uses discouraging language or puts others down. What He does do is call sin a sin. He doesn't mince words about the consequences of certain choices in life. And He was never afraid to call out the religious leaders of His day.

Too often, we have a tendency to paint Jesus as this kind, gentle man, which He was. But we want to gloss over the side of Jesus that overturned the money lenders' tables in the temple and who took on the religious hypocrites of His day.

I'm not really surprised that my daughter picked up on this aspect of who Jesus was. She's a tell-it-like-it-is personality. She also has a strong sense of justice. Reading about how Jesus stood up for what was right and told people exactly what He thought appeals to who she is.

We want to make sure we're giving our kids an accurate picture of who Jesus is. Jesus is both a kind and loving Savior, but He is also someone who stands up for what's right and doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to sin. We want our kids to emulate all of those qualities. If they're going to be imitators of Christ, then we want them to imitate all of Him.

Take a moment to think about what you're teaching your kids about Jesus. Are you giving them a one-dimensional view of who He is? Are you sharing with them the accounts of when Jesus stood up for what was right? Are you sharing the times when He got righteously angry? If not, start working those things into your child's impression of Jesus.

And don't ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit when God is asking you to grab a teachable moment with your child. God might want to teach you something in that moment, too.

I'm Thankful for Jesus' Sacrifice

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for Jesus' sacrifice.

I bet you've heard the verse John 3:16 before. You might even be able to say it without looking at the Bible. It says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Sound familiar?

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to earth so He could be a sacrifice so we could have eternal life with God. Do you know what a sacrifice is? It's giving up something you want for someone else. Any time you let your sister have the bigger piece of cake, that's a sacrifice. If you do what a friend wants to do instead of what you want to do, that's a sacrifice.

Jesus' sacrifice was bigger than giving up a piece of cake or letting someone else choose the game. Jesus sacrificed His life. He died so we could be closer to God. You see, our sins -- the stuff we do that goes against what God says like lying or being mean to someone -- keep us from being able to be close to God. God is perfect, and He can't be close to sin. Our sin separates us from Him.

In the Old Testament, every time one of the Israelites sinned, they had to offer a sacrifice to God in the form of an animal or some other type of food, like grain. When Jesus came and died on the cross, his sacrifice was for all of us and all of our sins. We no longer have to offer God a sacrifice of an animal to get rid of our sins. Jesus' sacrifice took care of that. When God looks at us now, He sees us as if we're perfect because he sees Jesus' sacrifice. All we have to do is tell God we're sorry and ask Him to help us not to do it again.

Jesus made the biggest sacrifice anyone could make. He gave up His life for someone else -- you and me. Thank God today forloving you enough to send Jesus to be a sacrifice. Write on your Thanksgiving wall that you're thankful the Jesus came to be a sacrifice for you.

Knowing Jesus

I was driving my 9-year-old to soccer practice the other day, when out of the blue she asks "Do you think it hurt when they beat up Jesus?" (My 9-year-old is my deep thinker. My other daughter's out-of-the-blue comments tend to be more along the lines of "You know, I think every movie would be better with a bazooka.") After explaining to her that it did hurt when the soldiers beat up Jesus because Jesus was 100 percent human and 100 percent God, I realized that we probably haven't drawn a very accurate picture of Jesus for her if she needed to ask that question.

The temptation is to tell our kids that Jesus loves them and paint a picture of Him as this gentle, loving person. When your child is a preschooler, that's a fine picture for them to have. It's one they can understand and one that presents Jesus in a manner they can accept. But, as our kids get older we need to do a better job of fleshing out a truer picture of who Jesus is. One of the goals of a Christ-follower is to become more like Jesus. We can't do that unless we really know who Jesus is.

Jesus was not a meek and mild man. He was clearly a strong leader as He had crowds following Him. He wasn't afraid to stand up for the truth even when it meant He would die. He got angry (remember Him cleaning the money-changers out of the temple?). He fought injustice (just by speaking to the woman at the well, He threw out society's rules). He confronted hypocrisy. Yet, He was clearly joyful and gentle as children loved Him and couldn't wait to be near Him.

Our kids need to know that Jesus was 100 percent God and 100 percent man. He understands what it's like to face the same obstacles that we face today. Hebrews 4:15 tells us "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Children need to know that while Jesus was sinless, because He was human, He was tempted to sin just like we are. Jesus understands our trials and sufferings.

Use some of these examples to paint a more accurate picture of Jesus for your children:

• Let your kids know that Jesus understands what it's like to have your friends turn on you. Share with them the story of Judas who turned Jesus over to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver. Just knowing that Jesus confronted a problem similar to what your kids encounter with their own friends can help your children understand that Jesus was real and faced trials.
• When your children are justifiably angry about something, talk with them about how Jesus was angry with the money lenders in the temple. Talk about how He sometimes got angry with His disciples (He once called Peter "Satan.") Let them know that sometimes anger is OK, but we need to not let our anger take over and push us to sin.
• Ask your kids to describe Jesus. Ask them if they think He ever was sad, tired, angry or upset. Point out that Jesus felt all of these emotions. He cried when His friend Lazarus died, He often went to be by Himself to recharge and He was often irritated and upset with the Pharisees and their refusal to see the Truth. Try to paint a broader picture of who Jesus was for your kids.

It's important for us to create a picture of Jesus for our children that goes beyond the fact that Jesus loves them. If we want to raise true Christ-followers -- ones who will change the world around them for Jesus, then they must know and understand exactly who Jesus is and why He is worthy of being followed.