This week we looked at the parables of Matthew 24 & 25. The point that Jesus is stressing in these stories is that of vigilance. He is going to be leaving the disciples and then, at some point, He will return. Knowing how men's hearts work, Jesus warns them that they will be tempted to be lazy and wicked in His absence. People rationalize this kind of behavior and think that they can clean up their mess in time and everything will be OK. Inevitably something goes wrong and mom and dad pull into the driveway an hour earlier than you'd expected.
Somewhere in that last paragraph, my analogies shifted, but you get the idea right?
In a Jesus sense, we too are looking forward to another coming of Christ. We are hopeful and we too should heed the message of the parables to be ready.
A general lesson pertains to vigilance and diligence. We are more susceptible to temptation when we are not ready for it.
What do you think? How will you impress these truths upon your children this week?
Here are some ideas that you can use:
Try doing a marshmallow test like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ my Sunday school teacher when I was in 3rd or 4th grade used to do this with donut holes and instructions to not eat them until she returned. She would leave the room and one of the students would coax the others to eat just one, that no one would notice... No one likes getting caught. The easiest thing to do (or maybe the hardest) is to obey.
It is hard to wait. We pretty much have to wait for something or someone on a daily basis. This week use one of those waiting times to remind your kids of one or more of the parables.
Read 2 Peter 3. The eighth verse is this one, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." That is a great verse for children to wrestle with, it is fascinating and a good point for discussion.
This week's Splink newsletter has an idea for a game called "Why? Because." https://d6family.com/splink/2020/11/why-does-god-allow-suffering/ Check it out and play a round or two with your family. When it comes to hard to understand Biblical concepts we can make stuff up and hope our children don't notice, or we can embrace the mystery that is involved in faith. This is a fun way to talk about the fact that you don't have all the answers.