Children often bring a fresh perspective and wonder to the people and things of the Bible.
I heard about a Sunday school class in Louisiana where the teacher asked a little boy if he could tell the names of the first man and woman whom God created in the Garden of Eden. When he did not respond, the music minister’s daughter raised her hand, excitedly saying, “I know! I know!” So the teacher asked, “What were the names of the first man and woman?” She proudly proclaimed, “Tarzan and Jane!”
My mother tells about teaching a Sunday school class at a rural church in Mississippi, when the students were asked to draw a picture of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. One little boy had a picture of Jesus, and a series of straight-line rows. Mom pointed to the rows and asked,
“What’s that?” He replied as if she should know, “Them’s the tomatoes.”
What a great opportunity we have as parents to read the Bible to our children and pass along the truths of our faith. The Bible encourages us to share the Word of God when our children and to seize teachable moments with them: “Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6, HCSB).
There are some wonderful children’s Bible story books available at most Christian bookstores that are excellent for reading before bedtime. Like
Deuteronomy says, just pointing out things as we go along through life, and commenting on how God made them, can lead to teachable moments.
Who knows? You may get some Tarzan and tomato stories of your own!
Copyright 2007 by Bob Rogers. Read this column each Thursday for a mix of religion and humor. For more “Holy Humor,” go to the Web page of First Baptist Church of Rincon and click on “Holy Humor.”
