On most Sundays I have the privilege of conducting the children’s sermon during our church’s worship service. Each week one of the boys or girls takes home a plastic toolbox. The following week they bring back the box with something in it. It could be a toy, a book, a stuffed animal… or anything else. The key, though, is I don’t know what is in the box until it’s opened. Whether there’s a trophy, a bowling pin, edible paper, a truck, a doll, or even a sock, I have to come up with a relatable story. And yes, all of those items have appeared in the box.
This past Sunday, laying in the box was a journal with a hand-drawn cover. The pages inside were blank.
So, too, was my mind. Just how could I connect this item to a Biblical story, to God?
I stalled for time.
Then it was crystal clear. The smiling faces looking up at me, waiting for the story, they were the story. I’ve watched them grow up over the years. Sunday after Sunday, sharing in the adventure of discovering what’s in the box.
They were the blank pages. We all are. God designed us that way.
Wade Abbott
/ June 15, 2011You could also have suggested the idea that when we accept Christ into our hearts that our sins become like those pages a blank slate in the eyes of God. Though this might be difficult for younger children to comprehend.
Wade Abbott
/ June 15, 2011Dad… great point. I did tie the blank pages in the book to God’s forgiveness during the the children’s sermon. I said that just like we can erase mistakes we make in a journal, God erases our sins when He forgives us. (Or turns to a brand-new blank page.)