Andrew was standing in the middle of the Children’s Bible Class room, holding his left jaw and shouting, “I’M NOT CRYING! I’M JUST REALLY, REALLY ANGRY!” James, who is less talkative, was standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.
As an adult helper for the group, I took both four-year-old boys aside and sat them each on little chairs next to the craft table. I sat down on a third chair and asked, “What’s happening here?”
Andrew, still holding his jaw, jumped off his chair, pointed to James and exclaimed, “He hit me back!”
Now, if we think about what Andrew said - that James hit him back - that can only mean that Andrew hit James first. And do you know what else it means? Both Andrew and James are sinners, like each of us. They both were letting their sinful natures tell them how to act. Even though they both said they were sorry, smiled at each other and left for home as “good friends” again, their real problem hadn’t been fixed.
Later, I chuckled as I thought about Andrew and James - until I realized that their four-year-old behavior is just a younger example of my own. Because of my sinful nature, I want to handle things my way. Both Andrew and James come from families that love Jesus, but that doesn’t change how their sinful natures act. Even after someone becomes a part of God’s family by being truly sorry for their sins and believing that Jesus died on the cross for those sins, the Bible tells us that they will still have struggles with doing what is wrong. God’s Word tells Christians that we each still need to “put off the old [nature] with [its] deeds; and . . . put on the new [nature]” (Colossians 3:9-109Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Colossians 3:9‑10)).
At Wednesday night Children’s Bible Class, we adults will continue to have children who misbehave, say they are sorry and become friends again. But that can’t last. It is only by obeying what God says that any of us, children or adults, will permit the new nature from God to control our words and actions. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:2222But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (James 1:22)).
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-2322But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22‑23)).
ML-03/25/2001