When my oldest son Mason was 3, we spent a couple of days at Disneyworld. Go Fish was performing at a Children's Pastors Conference in Orlando and my wife and I were excited to bring our family along for the adventure. At the time, Mason was a HUGE Buzz Lightyear fan. He had his little Buzz Lightyear action figure that he always played with and he even dressed up like Buzz that year on Halloween. Because of this, I was unbelievably excited for him to meet Buzz in person. It was all we talked about for months leading up to our trip.
Finally the moment arrived. We scored big time because we just happened to catch Buzz and Woody all alone in front of Al's Toy Barn before anybody else realized they were there. Mason went right up to Buzz and immediately grabbed his arm to look at something. The look on his face said it all...he knew it and I knew it - Buzz was a fake!
You see the first thing Mason did was grab Buzz's hand to get a closer look at his laser button. Fortunately for us all, nothing was blown up by a laser other than Mason's belief in his favorite superhero. Even at the age of 3 surrounded by the magical world of Disney, Mason could spot a fake immediately. Game over.
This brings me to my point. Kids know when you're shooting straight with them. When it comes to sharing the gospel, they may politely sit through a watered down "Jesus is your super duper bestest friend who has a neato plan for you and will make you happy all the time" version, but they won't be changed by it. Why? Because it's not the Truth as presented in the Bible. I believe that Scripture is sufficient for every occassion and that includes children's ministry. Give kids a high view of Scripture and a high view of God will follow. Why give them a cheap knock off when we can give them the Truth straight from God Himself? Simply put, the Bible is our greatest resource and it's important that we use it when teaching our kids.
I am excited for the day when Mason gets to meet Jesus face to face. If he grabs His hands to take a closer look he won't be disappointed!
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