by Marlene Allen, Life Model Works Board Member
Twelve-year-old Tess had one question for me as her children’s pastor, “Why is God always mad at us? I picture Him with a bat ready to get me if I do something wrong”,
This simple question began my quest to discover why children would have such a poor image of God at this early age. It didn’t take long before I found evidence, such as this very popular Sunday School song:
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see……..
Oh, be careful little ears what you hear….
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Hopefully, children are not still singing this scary song. It’s a warning song, not a love song. While it mentions God’s loving glance, children have to get around the warning before they can possibly see His smile.
To counter this let’s begin a child’s Life Model journey by presenting a loving God who likes them. Imagine if our children started their days with this declaration: GOD IS GOOD. HE LOVES ME ALL THE TIME AND HE LIKES ME. NOTHING CAN SEPARATE ME FROM HIS LOVE.
With this fundamental truth in their hearts, they then learn about Immanuel, God with us. Knowing God likes them and is always with them builds ‘a sweet spot’ in their hearts that they can get back to at any time from every emotion.
Tess can now sing,
Oh, precious little eyes, what do you see?
It’s the Father up above and He’s looking down with love
With a smile on His face just for me.
