Remind your child that God cares about everyone.
| posted 1/30/2009
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Babies are born self-centered. It's a matter of survival. If they don't cry, no one knows they're hungry. If no one feeds them, they won't live. God made babies that way, but he doesn't intend for them to stay selfish for a lifetime. So he gave an example: himself.
Jonah saw that example firsthand. It started out as a rather unattractive message. God told him to go to Nineveh and "cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah saw the motivation underneath that message. God cared about the people of Nineveh. The only problem was, Jonah didn't. As far as Jonah was concerned, he hoped God would doom them soon and forever. He worried that if the people of Nineveh heard a message from the real, true God, maybe they'd believe him and repent. And what would his kind, compassionate God do then? Jonah didn't want to take that risk.
So Jonah ran away. In a wonderful twist of God's humor, Jonah wound up having a bunch of frightened, pagan sailors beg him to tell them about his God. So he did—as appropriately as possible in the middle of a ship-shattering storm. The sailors believed and immediately "cried out to the LORD" (1:14).
God let Jonah into a place where he could share his faith, whether he wanted to or not. Part of your children's growing up is learning to share things, including toys, time, money, and the good news of God's love. You can teach your child each of these at the appropriate stages, keeping in mind God Himself as the example. (See also Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 10:25-37; 3 John 4-11.)
Good Words to Remember:
(Jonah) said to them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Jonah 1:9
Today's Challenge:
How do you teach your children to share?
Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.
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