Seeds...

I assist my good friend V in teaching a 5th and 6th grade Sunday School class. By the time they finish their assembly and music time, we only have about 30 minutes left to teach. The task before us is daunting...our job is to introduce a seed of biblical truth into their lives in such a way that they are able to draw from it and make some meaningful life application. Then we leave it to God to see that the message takes root in the fertile soil of their hearts...it's all about planting seeds.

The kids in the class last Sunday were, as usual, a thousand wiggles...they passed gum and candy to each other underneath the table edge with every confidence that we hadn't seen. They cracked jokes and talked among themselves, and it seemed that we were never going to gain control of the class. Every question V asked brought something else to mind, they each had to have a chance to tell about the week. We heard about the ballgames, the friends, the silly things that happened at school...it was all but impossible to get, much less keep, their attention.

The lesson today was the Old Testament promise of a Savior. We try to make the kids understand that throughout the entire Old Testament, the main characters in the stories we tell each week could only look forward to the Cross. They had no history to reinforce their understanding of the miraculous gift of salvation. They had only their faith and trust in a coming King. We tell them again, that only in New Testament times did people begin to have the benefit of hearing the stories of Christ passed down from one believer to another from the perspectives of those who witnessed His preaching, teaching, and ministering throughout the countryside of Judea and on the shores of Gallilee. Is that even a concept they can understand? Sometimes, I think they don't "get it" unless it concerns sports or video games or the Disney channel...but who am I to question the power of God to reach inside the minds and hearts of His little ones? Still…it’s about the seeds.

The bell rings and we try to keep them all in place around the table for a dismissal prayer. V petitions the Lord to care for them throughout the coming week, and then, almost before the “amen” is spoken, they’re scrambling out the door. We look at each other…another opportunity to reach those young hearts has zipped past at the speed of light. The only thing that concerns us is "have we watered the seeds?"

"Lord, we know that we hold the responsibility of caretaking your little ones. We know that one may plant, and another may water, but it is You who gives the increase. Only Your Spirit can cultivate the frail seeds that we plant here into the lush and vibrant lives that You desire for them. Help us to plant and water your garden diligently, with pure hearts and patient hands."