'Freedom of choice' is a popular conviction in our society—to give the children all the options and let them choose their path. The concept seems fair, but the reality is far from it. Children look to others to make sense of the world they see, but what they find is a wishy washy mish-mash of pickings from philosophies, theories and ideas. TV, teachers, friends and film stars all bend over backwards not to offend. They side-step the truth to present a happy smiley world.
In the same way, Bible believing adults tiptoe around salvation issues, too nervous to discuss the consequences of sin—scared of telling children they are in need—scared because, "We may get it wrong and they may ask us questions we can't answer." The child ends up with a motley jumble akin to grandmother's wool bag. This woolly mess of 'freedom' isn't new—it's what we have grown up with. It hinders us from clearly explaining God's rescue plan and the reason for Jesus. It makes it difficult to teach our children.
Religions, philosophies and theories don't only exist in far-off lands where non-biblical creeds dominate. Every child is born ignorant of the truth and is wide open to the fuzzy influences in our society. We can't assume that our children are learning the essentials in a logical way; indeed, we can safely assume that they aren't.
So what is to be done? GoodSeed is working on a book called "The Lamb" that unravels the jumble. It tracks the scarlet thread of redemption through the pages of the Bible, letting children clearly see for themselves what it has to say. It helps them understand God's plan, as they watch it join together, strand by strand, from the very beginning of the world.
We start by looking at who God is and in contrast see people's desperate need for forgiveness. From the first sacrifices in Eden we learn that God has a plan to send a Saviour. Realization hits us that the Saviour has to die. We look on the final sacrifice on that Friday outside Jerusalem. Finally we realise that the sacrifice is for us—we can be forgiven if we trust in the Lamb. Each new thought is explained and carefully introduced into the bigger picture. The child can see the relevance of biblical concepts as they are introduced simply and built upon through the text.
We pray earnestly that as you read these books to your children, your neighbours' kids, and your nephews and nieces, a pen would be lifted in Heaven to write down another name in the Lamb's book of life.
As a school teacher, Heather Holdsworth is keenly interested in children and the issues they face. Heather co-narrated "The Lamb" AudioBook with John Cross, and assisted in the writing of the text. She, along with her husband Adrian, live in Edinburgh, Scotland.
