Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Kingdom Belongs to Such as These

Here is October’s Missions Devotional written by Lyle Mattson:

“Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:13-14

I haven’t taught Sunday School full time for a couple of years. For some reason, after morning services in late August, I asked the Sunday School Leader if she needed any help. She said, “Yes, as a matter of fact, we need one more teacher.” I confidently told her to sign me up. She looked surprised and said, “Aren’t you going to ask which class—it’s second graders—4 boys.” Still confident, I replied that I was certified at all ages after 4 of my own. 

I have had them for 2 Sundays now—or should I say they have had me for 2 Sundays. 4 boys—all high octane—all loving life—all not too willing to sit down for more then 30 seconds at a time. Did I tell you that we’re going through the 10 Commandments. It dawned on me after the first lesson, that they probably didn’t have a plugged in knowledge as to the meaning of the term commandment—so I decided to make the lesson more basic. Last Sunday, I came from the aspect that we all live under laws and that these laws of nature, as we call them, are laws that we must, willingly or not, live by. I held up an eraser and asked the question, “What happens when I drop the eraser?” “Duh, it falls,” was the reply. (Second graders have that ability to make you feel so smart.) My next question was equally obvious, “What if you drop the eraser?” They took turns and wouldn’t you know it, every time the eraser hit the floor—until it started hitting the boy next in line. 

At that point, I asked them if they wanted to go outside. There had been a fierce wind storm 6 weeks earlier that had dropped several 40 foot poplar trees on the church property—I wanted to use them to illustrate the law of gravity. As we stepped out, the first thing they noticed was the swings. “Let’s swing!” all four called out in unison. They were on the swings in a moment, swinging with full
contentment—with the law of gravity bringing them routinely back to the pusher (me). After 5 minutes on the swings, we went back to the room and attacked the lesson on Moses bringing the Commandments down the mountain. What do these characters learn during that ½ hour class Sunday morning? I’m not sure; but to be certain, I am learning—my goal is to follow God’s leading—to bring them to Jesus and not to hinder that pathway. I come with a lesson plan every Sunday. I realize that with that plan, I need a pair of listening ears for if, as Jesus says, the kingdom
belongs to such as these, I need to listen as much as I teach.