Friday, August 6, 2010

Some simple spiritual analogies

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down,
and when thou risest up.
Deuteronomy 6:7

Recently, I have been challenged by this verse. Specifically to incorporate spiritual lessons and truths into everyday activities and conversations. While I still have far to grow in this area; I wanted to share a couple of recent analogies that have come up in talking with my kids. I hope these will help you (as they have helped me) to see how truths about God are all around us.

The first analogy is one that I've heard several times before but was recently able to discuss with the kids. While we were baking brownies one day they asked to taste some of the individual ingredients; one being the vanilla and the other being the cocoa powder. After tasting these (and realizing they don't taste nearly as good as they smell) I explained how that sin is like that. Often sin looks and "smells" enticing but once we have taken a taste we recognize that it isn't nearly as fun/enjoyable as we thought. I asked the kids if they wanted another taste, they both said no :) and so I explained how that we should have the same feeling toward sin and not forget the true taste of it when we encounter it in our lives again.

The second analogy happened earlier today and is one that I'm going to share with the kids but hadn't thought about until Hailey left the room. Hailey pulled a glow in the dark eraser (which happened to be cross shaped) out of the cabinet. She asked why it wasn't glowing anymore. I explained that glow in the dark things need to be set in the light so they can absorb the light which, when placed in a dark cabinet, etc, will cause it to glow and that if it is left in the dark the light will fade and it will not glow anymore. After Hailey left the room I was thinking how this illustrates the importance of being in the Light (thru spending time with God) so that we can absorb His Light and have it shine thru us in this dark world. The more time we spend in the dark (without "recharging") the more our light fades and we become like the dark world around us.

I hope these two simple analogies will encourage you to look around and listen for those teachable moments that help to teach God's Truths diligently.

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