Hands down, my church’s VBS theme has been the best ever. “Soul Wars” is based on the story of Peter and his tug-of-war battle between the dark side and the light side. The first night, Peter followed the light when he saw the awesome work of Jesus fill up his fishless net with hundreds and hundreds of fish instantly. Last night, Peter joined the intoxicating dark side when put under pressure by men when they asked if he was associated with Jesus. He denied Him 3 times-just as Christ had predicted. My kids have had an absolute blast!
And, no lie, I have too. This was my partner last night. Obnoxious Olive.
VBS is so important because it’s specifically for children. You know, Jesus singled out kids. One of the only times we hear of Jesus being “displeased” is when the disciples told the children to “go away” when they ran to hug Him.
“The people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But his disciples rebuked him. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” (Matthew 19:13-14)
Kids are a big deal. Their souls are a big deal. Our children’s minister, who just happens to be my brother-in-law, made s great statement to parents: The best mission trip you can ever make is into your children’s bedroom to pray and talk about Jesus. My kids’ souls are my biggest mission field. I’d do anything to save them. I will fight the “dark side” to save their soul.
But, the rough part is…I can’t.
Ultimately, the choice for their souls to be saved is up to them. On an overseas mission trip, you pay supplies, food, clothing, Bibles, and you make plans for your trip. When you’re there, you invest your time in providing a fantastic atmosphere and activities to get the message of the Savior’s love for them, to them. But after the missionaries leave, the schedules go back to normal, and the dark side tries to take over, the decision to lean on Christ is up to them.
We’ve got to do the same thing with our kids. Buy your kids a Bible, even if they cannot read. Get them used to the importance of the book. Talk about the Bible stories. Something we, as adults, have a hard time remembering is that these stories aren’t make believe flip charts-they are real. People watched these events unfold. These people had real feelings of sorrow, self debate, and shock. Our kids get that. We can also give our kids great relationships with our spouse and a simple ride to worship. We can’t make decisions for them, but now is the best time to preach the Truth and aid them based on the greatest book of all time. With all these supplies, they will be able to fight the dark side without a doubt.
We can learn a lot from our kids. We went to dinner last night to celebrate our selling of a car (and our one huge step closer to being debt free).
Mid bite, Peyton stands up and starts talking to the booth behind us. It was a sweet elderly couple just trying to finish their dessert. He was up and talking before we could even grab him.
“Hi.”
“Hello, young man.”
“We’re going to VBS at my church.”
“You are?”
“Yes. You need to be at VBS at my church. She (his wife) can come to, but you need to leave right now because we are leaving soon.”
Alright, so I realize I need to teach my son evangelism skills and…person space…but we can learn so much from our kids! The dark side makes it so uncomfortable to spit out, “Will you come to church with me?” and we give in like it’s nothing. There is a war going on! Take a lesson from children, and keep your focus on Jesus. Don’t casually walk toward Him (and away from the dark side)…RUN!
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