Living in a Reconciled World

I made a statement this past Sunday which I think speaks specifically to the problem of religion. Religion, the way in which I define it, is any system we create to to appease God. It's steeped within our insecurity about the nature of God. And...unfortunately, it's something we pass along to many unsuspecting seekers. Including our children.

The statement I made is quite simple: "You will never have to lead a child to the Lord if you never lead them away." In other words, a child will never believe they are far from God unless you teach them. This is one of the greatest problems that religion possesses. In religion we have steps that have to be taken - hoops that must be jumped through. The idea that a child could grow up naturally into the faith seems so foreign to us. However, that is exactly they way they were meant to be raised.

If you buy into the goods that religion has sold us, this may be hard for you to grasp. However, I want you to stick with me for a minute. Religion tells us that in order to accept Christ then one must first admit they are a sinner. It's an interesting theory, but you just don't find it in the Gospels. In fact, you see something quite different. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 19:14 to, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." Those in religious circles believe that a child has to take our adult "steps" to come to faith in Christ. Jesus would tell us that we have it backwards. We need to become like them.

I cannot tell you the times I have seen children turned away from making a profession of faith. Not only have I seen it, I've done it. Wanting to make sure they understood it all. Believing that I had their best interest at heart. And the reality is that it was my own misunderstandings about the nature of God that got in the way. No child, or adult for that matter, has to fulfill some religious obligations. The Bible simply calls on us to believe.

It is my belief that you could raise a child to know that they are loved by God and that they will love Him in return. You teach them about Jesus coming into the world to rescue humanity and their faith is awakened. They naturally want to follow Him. I've seen it over & over again. To put anything more on them other than believing is to hinder them in coming to the Father.

You might think this isn't a big deal but I want you to understand the implications. We have raised countless generations of children who grew up into adults believing that they are far away from God. We have taught them that there is something wrong with them. Something that happened to them by just simply being alive. We have taught them that they are sinners through no fault of their own but that God is going to hold them accountable. This is not the testimony of Scripture. The Apostle Paul actually told a group of idol worshipers that God was not far from them at all. If they would believe, they would experience the abundant life of Christ.

The Father gave to the Apostles & the early church the ministry of reconciliation. The message of this ministry was that the Father was in the Son reconciling the world unto Himself. This message was proclaimed nearly 2000 years ago. Fast forward to the day of your birth. You were born into a world that had already been reconciled. There was peace between you & the Father from the moment you came out of your mother's womb. You could have been raised with that understanding. You could have been raised with an awareness of the Father's love for you. Because of the grace of God, you could have been empowered to walk in relationship with Him from the time you were a little child. The majority of us were not raised in this manner. Instead, we were raised with the religious understanding of our parents or culture. The belief that we are sinners from birth actually creates rebellion in our hearts. To make matters worse, we had the Law placed upon our shoulders. Need I go on? Can you see the difference?

I'm believing for a generation that is raised with the awareness of the Father's love. A generation who doesn't have to wait for an "age of accountability" before they make a decision for Christ. A generation who walks naturally in faith & professes Christ through their life. A generation who never has to question who they are in Christ. I'm committed to this generation while trying to help mine gain the foundation they were always meant to walk in. There's a lot of work to be done. However, the more childlike we become in our faith the greater the possibilities.