The Best Part of Being a Grandparent

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So, what do you think is the best part of being a grandparent? What’s that well-worn quip? “The best thing about being a grandparent is that you can spoil the grandkids then send them home to their parents!” Really? That’s it? That’s the best thing about being a grandparent? Hmmm . . . I hope not! Who wants spoiled children running around? There’s got to be something better. So, what is the best part of being a grandparent?

I think for most of us grandparents, our “enjoyment quotient” is high. You know, “If I had realized having grandchildren would be this much fun I would have had them first!” That’s great. I’m glad you’re enjoying being a grandparent. My wife and I are enjoying being grandparents, too. Let’s have fun with those grandkids, my friends. Let’s keep our “enjoyment quotient” high.

But, I wonder how high our “understanding quotient” is as grandparents. What I mean is, how much time and effort have we put into trying to understand God’s calling on our lives as grandparents? How proactive have we been in exploring the Bible to find out what God expects of Christian grandparents?

How much time and effort have we put into trying to understand God’s calling on our lives as grandparents? How proactive have we been in exploring the Bible to find out what God expects of Christian grandparents? Share on X

When my wife and I were asked to teach a class on gospel-centered grandparenting, we were taken a bit by surprise. It’s not that we were against the idea. We just hadn’t given it much thought. We had done a fair amount of teaching on marriage over the years, and on parenting issues, too. But, grandparenting? Who ever heard of a class on grandparenting? No one had ever given us any systematic teaching on grandparenting. Yet, here we were, the grandparents of six very-much-loved grandchildren, sincerely doing the best we knew how to prayerfully point them to Christ, even though we had never been given any specific training in this awesome ministry of grandparenting.

Well, we said “yes” to the invitation to teach the class on grandparenting. We knew we had a lot to learn. So, we began in earnest to search God’s Word on his calling on our lives as grandparents.

One part of God’s Word that we found especially helpful in increasing our “understanding quotient” of the ministry of grandparenting was Psalm 145. There we found God calling us to be intentionally engaged in an inter-generational spiritual relay. Are you familiar with Psalm 145? Go ahead. Turn or tap to that Psalm right now. Do you see what we saw? God wants us be intentional in passing the baton of faith to the coming generations by exalting Him. We are to engage our grandchildren in faithfully and passionately talking to them about:

  • God’s greatness (verses 3-6)
  • God’s goodness (verses 8-10)
  • God’s sovereignty (verses 11-13a)
  • God’s daily provision (verses 13b-17)
  • God’s saving grace (verses 18-20)

Having fun with our grandkids is great! But, that’s not the best part of grandparenting. The best part is having the amazing privilege of passing the baton of faith. So, as we interact with our grandchildren whether it’s a face-to-face conversation, through a card we might send, over the phone or through social media, we can intentionally talk to our grandchildren about God, his glory and the delight we can have in him through Christ. And, Lord willing, what will be the end result? “That they might set their hope in God” (Psalm 78:7). Isn’t that what we want more than anything else for our grandchildren? Now, that’s the best part of being a grandparent!

Father Daughter Argue

Where Have Civility and Respect Gone

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Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up… (Eph. 4:29)

Have you ever noticed how political and social issues have a way of bringing out the worst in people? Does the degree of verbal slander between opposing positions, particularly in matters of religion and politics, seem over the top to you? It’s easy to get caught up in the verbal name-calling. Perhaps it’s time to hit pause and ask how our conversations exalt Christ?

I do believe our nation is at a crossroads in terms of the character, values, and core beliefs that define us as a nation. As rhetoric and opinions amplify through vicious incivility, we must guard ourselves from crass and derisive ridicule of those with whom we disagree. There is nothing to gain by losing our cool, including our ability to make a positive impact on our grandchildren.

Let’s face it. There is plenty going on in the world today to raise the ire of any one of us, yet many situations do not merit or need our response. Why should we get caught up in the incivility of conversations about matters about which there is disagreement? Even when the truth is at stake, should incivility characterize our conversations about such matters? As a grandparent, I do not want my grandchildren hearing me speak disparagingly about other people simply because we do not agree. I do not want them to learn from me that it is okay to demean others even if I know they are wrong. Oh, how often I have failed in this regard!

Let’s not use our failures as an excuse to continue. Godly grandparents do not want to see their grandchildren become self-righteous, arrogant, and disrespectful, even if they are treated disrespectfully and hated by the world. We want them to walk in the truth as kind, gracious men and women, who treat everyone as persons made in the image of God… just as we are. Let’s be an example to them.

Here are a few biblical principles that we should all take to heart if we want our grandkids to imitate us in the process of expressing opinions with civility and respect:

  1. Cultivate a humble heart: Remember God opposes (that’s scary) the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Pride is nurtured by a grand illusion of self-importance and self-promotion; humility actually sees others as better than ourselves. That’s radical!
  2. Practice patience: Proverbs says a hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. Patience rests confidently in the providential work of God in others…and in me, in God’s time. We’re all messy, so let’s bear with one another.
  3. Learn to forgive: Forgiveness happens when I realize how much I have been forgiven and how much there is for which I still need to repent (See Eph. 4:32). Forgiveness does not justify sin or human depravity. It only acknowledges that there, but by the grace of God, go I. We’re all messy, so let’s forgive one another.
  4. Speak words of blessing: Words of criticism and cursing sometimes come easier than words of blessing. To bless is to intentionally speak well of another. If I can’t do that, then maybe I should keep my mouth shut. Maybe I should model to my grandchildren the practice of praying for our leaders and those we disagree with instead of ridiculing them.

I grant you, there is plenty to be concerned about in our world right now. I’m not suggesting we neglect helping our grandchildren understand the issues at stake. It is important to talk about what is going on in our world and why. But losing our cool through unwholesome speech does not reflect well on the truth or on our heart, does it? And it won’t help our grandchildren’s heart either. And it certainly does not display the glory of God as image-bearers of God.

GRANDPAUSE: None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves. -Charles Spurgeon

A Battered Old Lantern

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Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

My sister sent me this story written by a friend many years ago. Now that Christmas is upon us, I thought this would be a good reminder to all of us of the gift we can give to Christ and others because of the gift we received from Him.

Rehearsal for the Christmas Pageant were being held, and the Director was critically examining a battered old lantern that was to be used as an oil lamp in the manger scene. The idea was great – a warm, flickering lamp would cast a very authentic light in contrast to the harsh spotlights above. With any stretch of the imagination, one’s mind could easily span the two thousand years and embrace the atmosphere and quiet glory of the birth of the Christ child.

However, that old lantern seemed to present a problem for the Director – not in the light it cast, but in its battered appearance.

“It looks pretty banged up,” someone said. “Can’t we find something better?” another asked.

Suddenly, a thought struck me and I heard myself interrupt. “Excuse me, but I can’t help but suggest that in the dimness of the room I really don’t see the old lantern at all. All I see is the light it sends out.”

A brief discussion followed and the unanimous consent for its use was reached. The old lantern would be use and its warm glow would bathe the manger scene.

On Christmas morning we present quite an array of packages, don’t we? Some of us are brightly decorated – some are dented and worn, like that old lantern. When our Heavenly Father looks beyond the wrappings, what does He find inside – a willing gift, an open heart, a welcome invitation the makes the Christ Child of Christmas come alive within each of us?

Perhaps, each of us might say, “Father, my gift to you this Christmas is… me, just as I am, dented and rusty and with a few dings. I ask You to find use for this faulted life in the light of Your faultless Son, Jesus. Use me to spread the warm glow of Your love the sake, comfort and hope of my fellow man… and most of all, for Your glory!”

Written by Eldon Baye, December 1991

Absolute Truth #7: Salvation is More Than a Ticket to Heaven

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“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17

Jim Stovall’s story, The Ultimate Gift, describes the journey of the young, self-centered, irresponsible Jason Stevens, nephew of oil and gas tycoon, Red Stevens.  Expecting to inherit a large portion of Red’s wealth after his death, Jason was disappointed to discover that he would get nothing unless he first completed twelve assignments his uncle planned for Jason before his death. These would be overseen by his old friend and attorney, Theodore Hamilton, to make sure each was completed as instructed.

You see, Red knew dumping material wealth into Jason’s lap would not bless him. He wanted him to get something better. He wanted his nephew to discover the ‘ultimate gift’, which the author describes as “life lived to its fullest”.

God’s gift of salvation is the real ‘ultimate gift’, but unlike Red Stevens, God does not require us to work for this gift. His ultimate gift is free, though paid for with a great price. It is the gift of eternal life for those who receive it, a gift fully realized after this life and at the Second Coming (another absolute truth). But is that all it is – a ticket to heaven?

Not according to Scripture. God’s gift is a gift that changes us the moment it is received. It’s what Jesus called the ‘abundant life’—life lived to its fullest in Red Steven’s words.

In other words, for the redeemed in Christ, the Gospel shapes everything we are and do. When once we were dead, in Christ we are made alive (Ephesians 2), in order that we might truly display His glory and grace in the here and now. This undeserved gift of eternal life produces a fundamental change (conversion) in us now.

Conversion is a word largely in disuse today, but it was once commonly employed to describe that process of the old being replaced by the new. Perhaps it is a word we ought to revive describing true followers of Christ as new creatures in Christ.

Salvation is not a free pass to heaven with no relevance to how we live our life now. Salvation is new birth in which our new hearts are unchained from the bondage of sin so we live to the praise of His glorious grace. It’s what Paul meant when he instructed us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Let me ask you… would it be obvious to your grandchildren that God’s glory and grace is worked out in you?

GRANDPAUSE

Make the time to sit down with your grandchildren, regardless of their age, and share with them your journey of faith in Christ. They need to hear your story and how it has changed you. If you can’t share it with them in person, record it or write it out. God has made it clear that parents and grandparents are responsible to teach and tell the story of God’s grace and faithfulness. Your story is part of that grand story. Tell it!

Faith and works are like the light and heat of a candle; they cannot be separated.
 (Author Unknown)

Absolute Reality #6: Only God Can Remedy Man’s Predicament

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“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

It really is time for followers of Christ to take back Christmas. For us, Christmas is the greatest story ever told – it is the rest of the story.

In my previous blog, we dealt with the hard reality of Hell as the ultimate consequence of our sin. Now we come to the good part of the story –the Gospel (Good News).

Our powerlessness to solve the dilemma of our need for salvation has not left us without hope. On the contrary, the good news is that God has taken upon Himself the remedy for our desperate plight. By the power of His own love and grace alone through His only Son, Jesus Christ, a way has been established for our redemption.

It is good news because it takes the burden off our shoulders to solve an infinite problem with finite means. It is good news because we are accepted, not based on whether our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds, but by grace through faith alone. It is good news because it is a gift freely given that we cannot earn, nor expected to earn.

Surely, if there were ever people on the face of this planet with something for which to be thankful, and who ought to be motivated to spread good cheer, it would us who have received this gift of life – followers of Christ unchained from the curse of sin and death, and set free to live fully, purposefully, and compassionately in a world desperate for good news.

Your grandchildren desperately need this good news gift delivered by one whose life is shaped by the Gospel. Will your life make them want this gift for themselves?

FANNING THE FLAME

If you are fortunate enough to spend Christmas this year with your children and grandchildren, be intentional about celebrating the real story of Christmas. Here are a few suggestions when you gather to help you make it truly a season of joy wrapped in the Good News that Christ has come:

  • Sing carols that declare the Good News of Christ’s incarnation
  • Read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and talk about why this was such a significant event
  • Ask your grandchildren (you do this too) to come to your Christmas family gathering each with a gift for Jesus (read Matthew 2:10-11). It could be something they write out (a poem, a letter, or a good work), a symbol to represent their gratitude and adoration to Jesus for His gift, or a gift in the name of Jesus for someone who is really in need)

Absolute Reality #5: We are Powerless to Save

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College students gathering in a university student center were discussing various philosophies and religions of the world. After one student shared the claims of Christianity and the Gospel, a student responded, “The Christian Gospel is too simplistic for me and most intellectual thinkers. I want to be able to figure things out for myself. In the long run that’s more satisfying.”

That conversation took place while I was in college eons ago. I often wonder if that student’s “intellectual” pursuits ever led her to the realization that shopping at the Do-It-Yourself store is a dead-end street. No human effort in philosophy, science, politics, philanthropy, psychology or any other human endeavor has ever, or ever will, address the lost condition of the human heart.

No matter what good things we accomplish as human beings, we are ultimately powerless to address the dilemma of our own emptiness, finiteness, and bent towards evil. History continually unveils our true condition validating Jesus’ words that “no one is good, except God alone.”

This notion that our post-modern world is making great progress toward the elimination of hate, greed and violence in the world suggests we don’t really need to be “saved” from anything.  Hmmm… I don’t know about you, but I don’t see much evidence that notion matches up with reality, do you?

The fact is the true nature of man’s sinfulness has never been more apparent than it is today. God says that the wages of sin is death – not just physical death, but an eternal “death” in a real place called Hell. Now that’s a topic we don’t want to talk about much! It’s more popular to either deny or play down its existence. Sadly, those who take either position are ignorant of both man’s powerlessness to save himself and the horrible consequences of that rejection.

Whether we like it or not, Hell does exist. Some would deceive us into thinking that if it does exist, it’s no big deal. But the Bible speaks frankly about the horrors of Hell so that there can be no misunderstanding. Jesus said it would be a place of “darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The story of the rich man and Lazarus leaves no doubt about the horrors of Hell. It is so terrible the rich man pleads with God to warn others.

The reality of Hell is why the message of the cross is good news. The Gospel is the rest of the story… which is good news indeed! We’ll discuss this Good news next time.

FANNING THE FLAME

Don’t neglect talking with your grandchildren about the realities of hell because you think it will scare them. Hell is not fiction – it is reality, and our children need to know that it exists, it is horrible, and God has provided a way out.

There are appropriate ways of discussing this at various ages, but it does need to be discussed honestly in the same way we warn our children about the dangers of playing with fire or running out into the street. Ask God to give you wisdom to know how to discuss it truthfully, carefully, and always with the Good News message of hope.

Dr. Josh Mulvihill, author of Biblical Grandparenting, offers these suggestions for an object lesson conversation about heaven and hell with younger children:

    1. Find pictures of a unicorn, the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, the Loch Ness Monster or other fictional characters. Ask children what they have in common? They are all make believe. They do not exist. After showing all those pictures show them depictions of heaven and hell you can find on the internet Ask the children if they are make believe or real. Heaven and Hell are real.
    2. Give children a blank piece of paper and have them draw a picture of heaven on one side and hell on the other. Encourage them to draw a picture as biblically accurate as they possibly can. Invite your grandchildren to share what they drew and why they included some of the things that they did in their picture. Remind them that everyone will spend eternity in one of these two places. Ask them how we can know if we will be in Heaven (John 3:16; Romans 10:9).
Man LIfint Hands in Praise

Every Human Being is a Worshiper

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[NOTE: This is the fourth in our serious of 7 Critical Absolute Truths that parents and grandparents need to teach their children.  As a grandparent, you can have a powerful personal influence in their understanding of these key truths. Obviously, there are more than seven, but as you impress these seven on a child’s mind and heart, they will leave a transformational imprint that will shape their worldview for life.

May God grant you wisdom, compassion and humility as you seek to talk about these truths with your grandchildren so they will learn to walk in the truth.]

 “They [godless men] exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…”  Rom. 1:25

In the immediate aftermath of great tragedy, especially tragedies like 9/11 that impact a whole nation, it is intriguing to watch how we suddenly turn our attention to God and “religion”—even politicians. Faced with something we cannot explain, stripped of our security, and helpless to control our destinies, we were forced to look outside ourselves, if only for a moment.

A cursory look at the religions of the world makes it clear that mankind is wired to worship. Even those who claim to be atheists worship. They may worship themselves, reason or something else, but they do worship something. We look for something to bow to (even if it’s me), and to explain why the world is the way it is.

Our objects of worship can range from celebrities, money, pleasure, or technology to angels, trees, Mother Earth or God. We are all worshipers. It’s part of our spiritual DNA placed there by the One who created all. So, it’s not a matter of IF, but WHAT or WHO.

God hard-wired us as worshipers to draw us to Himself. The “religion” of men is our attempt to find meaning in life and answers for what’s wrong with the world through our own effort and reason. Men instinctively know that they need “salvation”, so we create religions like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Scientology or belief systems (they don’t like to be called religions, even though ‘religion’ means belief system) like Darwinism, neo-paganism, or atheism in an attempt to find answers and peace for our souls. Unfortunately, they’re all dead-ends… literally.

While all these are dependent upon human effort and reason, the Bible alone declares that our salvation and hope is not dependent upon anything we can do other than receive by faith God’s love demonstrated in the sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who did not come to start a religion, but to save us from our sinful condition and resulting condemnation. It is a gift that reminds us that we cannot save ourselves, but that God’s grace is sufficient to set us free and give us meaning and hope.

These first four absolute “realities” or truths summarized below are foundational to an accurate understanding of who God is, who we are, and our desperate condition. They create the framework for the next three Absolute Realities.

Here is a summary of the Absolute Truths we have discussed so far:

#1 – God Is and Created ALL That Exists… Including You

#2 – Something Is Seriously Wrong with The World

#3 – We Are All Mortal and Live with Limitations Physically, Emotionally, Relationally and Intellectually

#4 – Every Person is A Worshiper Longing for Answers and Meaning

TEACH AND TELL

Consider creating a journal called Non-Negotiables for Life (or whatever you wish to call it), in which you write down in your own words what the Bible says about these absolute truths. Then give it as a legacy gift to your grandchildren. You can add family pictures and other mementos of God’s work in your family to illustrate God’s goodness. Even though they may not appreciate it until much later in life, do not minimize the potential impact it such a journal could have. You can purchase a download of our Legacy Journal from our web site to help you get started.

Absolute Truth #3: We Are All Mortal and Live with Limitations

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“The length of our days is seventy, or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow…”  Ps. 90:10

[NOTE: As the second most powerful spiritual influencers in our grandchildren’s lives (and sometimes the #1 influencer), grandparents need reminded of the core truths of who God is, who we are, why the world is in the mess it is, and what has God done about, if we are to be the kind of influencers God asks us to be.

This is the third in our serious of 7 Absolute Truths we all need to grasp. There are more than seven, but these seven are critical. May God give you wisdom and understanding as you pass these truths on to your grandchildren so they will walk in the truth.]

 

Spanish explorer, Ponce de León, is often associated with the search for the legendary Fountain of Youth to cure his aging. On both sides of the Atlantic, stories of such a rejuvenating water were common. Mankind has always sought for some way to stop the aging process and become immortal.

It is still true today. Our culture is obsessed with looking younger and avoid the effects of aging. Anti-aging creams, cosmetic surgery, Botox, antioxidants and genetics are all modern day attempts to find that elusive ‘fountain of youth’. We don’t like to admit our mortality because it reminds us of our limitations as human beings.

Whether we like it or not, as much as we may try to live with the delusion that we will never die, deep down we all know it ain’t so. We know the clock is ticking and there is nothing we can do to stop it.

When we do face the reality of our immortality, we are forced to choose one of three responses:

1) We can despair;

2) We can ignore it and bury ourselves in one big party all the time;

3) We can face it by living gratefully in the knowledge that our lives are in the hands of a loving Father, who made us, has a purpose for our lives, and has promised us an eternity without these curses.

The last option frees to find, not the fountain of youth, but the fountain of life where there is purpose and hope for today and forever.

Besides our physical limitations, we face many other limitations in knowledge, relationships and emotions. We foolishly pursue what can never satisfy, only to discover that the feelings of emptiness, loneliness and inadequacy persist.

Nothing alters the fact that our physical, emotional, relational and intellectual limitations are real. Man’s endless pursuit of wealth, fame or pleasure as the antidote for his or her limitations, ends in the realization that this road is a dead-end. As hard as we try, the realities of disease, aging, depression, grief, fear, betrayal, and ignorance, to name a few, are outside our ability to control, but not God’s ability to heal and redeem.

TEACH AND TELL

It’s time for an attitude check…

  • What attitude towards aging and mortality will your children and grandchildren glean from your attitude about life and aging?
  • Are you caught in the obsession look “young”? Does your attitude embrace or devalue the meaning of aging and death as something purposeful, even an essential component of living as God’s workmanship?
  • When the subject of death arises, are you able to talk about it with your grandchildren in such a way that they can understand how our mortality should lead us to place our trust in God?

GRANDPAUSE: “If men are prepared to die they are ready for anything.”  -Unknown

Absolute Truth #2: A Few More Thoughts

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Something’s Wrong with the World

We cannot deny that something is desperately wrong with the world, and the temptation will be for parents and grandparents to try to stay relevant with the culture by accommodating ourselves to the thinking of the culture, often without realizing we are doing so.

So, I felt a couple of other thoughts would be useful related to how the Gospel ought to set apart Christian parents and grandparents from the rest of the world…

  1. When it comes to parenting and grandparenting standards, it is tempting to let cultural trends dictate those standards. Christian parents and grandparents, on the other hand, turn to the Bible for their standards, whether it is popular to do so, or not.

We know that we are part of a fallen, broken and messed up world because of sin. We can’t save ourselves from the consequences of our sin. However, we know the Gospel is the good news that God can. If fact, He is the only one who can and He has done so through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are all in need of a savior because we are the problem… our hearts are bent towards rebellion against God and His truth.

The Gospel declares that we, by faith, have received the grace of God through the blood of Christ to cleanse our hearts, minds and souls. The sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God makes it possible for us to be made alive in Christ, to become new creature who are freed from the slavery of our sinful natures.

Therefore, as the redeemed, we turn to the only place where a righteous standard for parenting and grandparenting can be found – God’s Word. We seek His truth because it is perfect and liberating. Cultural trends come and go, and always lead to more brokenness and messiness. God’s standards are right, just and in our best interests. God delights in giving us what is best and leads to peace for our souls… and gives Him the greatest glory.

  1. If we stubbornly hold on (and we must) to God’s standards for righteous living and how we train up our children to walk in the truth. There will be push back when we do so. For example, the world does not understand that children don’t NEED smartphones but do need moral standards.

They will mock the biblical standards of Christian parents and grandparents who care about what goes into the minds and hearts of our children. They will not understand that what they watch on TV, see at the movies, and read on social media matters. Worldly parents will be perplexed by parents and grandparents who believe they should keep cell phones, tablets and computers out of kids’ bedrooms.

Sadly, many Christian parents take a very lax stand on these matters. There is often more concern about what their kids eat than the lies and garbage they are fed via the devices in their own homes. Intentional parents and grandparents who want the Gospel to shape how they live as a family care about the things that destroy and corrupt the heart. They know that a child’s soul is of infinitely greater worth than their social image – that their self-worth is more important than their popularity.

Gospel-shaped parents and grandparents stand firm upon the standards of Scripture because they know it is true and is good for the soul. If the price of raising children and grandchildren who love truth and righteousness, who live responsibly and clear-mindedly, is the sneers and side-ways glances of those who don’t understand what matters, then that is a price worth paying.

After all, there is no greater joy than to know my children are walking in the truth.

 

Absolute Truth #2: Something’s Wrong with the World

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“Since they (mankind) did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”  Rom. 1:28

When God made us, He made something beautiful and perfect. Not only are we beautiful creatures made in His image, we are also broken. We are noble creatures, but also cruel creatures. There is also something dreadfully wrong with all of creation.

Famine, floods, and other natural disasters, combine with war, disease, starvation and death as an everyday reality of life on this planet. Incurable diseases, increasing incidents of divorce, rampant violence, rape, genocide, terrorism, sexual orientation confusion and perversions, and every kind of evil imaginable leave no doubt that something is not right – that this is not the way life should be, or that God designed it to be.

But to start with the problem of sin and the curse, is like starting to read a novel in the middle of the book. It won’t make sense because we have not been introduced to the main characters of the story and how the story began. That’s why we started this series with God and His creation, including how human beings are made in His image. But something went wrong, and it began with us.

In spite of the obvious examples of man’s true depravity we see on the news every day, there remain those who insist that people are mostly “good” at the core. The claim is made that if we would only learn to “focus our energy” on love and tolerance, provide more education, and remove all “religious bigotry”, the world would be a place of peace and harmony. But the truth is there is a heart problem. The heart, because of sin, is deceitfully wicked, so who can know what is in it and what it will produce? Actually, we do know – out of the heart comes all kinds of deceit and wickedness in our world.

When my wife and I were newly married (a long time ago, I might add), we attended a young couples’ Bible class in our church. I remember a discussion one Sunday morning about man’s sin nature, and the anger one young mother expressed at the suggestion that we are born with a sin nature.

“Children are born good,” she firmly declared. “Sinful behavior in children is learned from adults… it’s not innate.”

The Bible, however, makes this truth declaration: “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and “All of us also lived among them at one time [the disobedient] gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath…” (Ephesians 2:3)

In his book The Story of Reality, Gregory Koukl reminds us that badness, our badness, is the problem with the world in which we live. “And here we come to a critical point in the Story: The thing that went wrong with man caused what went wrong with the world. The world is broken because we are broken. Our badness made the world go bad.”

When sin entered the world because man rebelled against God, all creation came under a curse (read Genesis 3). The condition of our hearts and the world in which we live is not as it should be. The Curse of sin is a reality that cannot be hidden. Believers embrace this truth because we know that, only in doing so, can we grasp the significance of the rest of the story we will be discussing later.

TEACHING AND TELLING

  1. Don’t be afraid to discuss with your grandchildren the reality of our sinful natures and depravity of the world in which we live. This is why we need a Savior. We are dead in our sins, we cannot save ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-10).
  2. Share you own story and journey of faith when you knew you needed a Savior. Without an understanding of the desperate situation of our hearts and our world, we will never fear God or be able to grasp the wonder and depth of God’s love and grace to do what we cannot do for ourselves.

GRANDPAUSE: “To think we can BE good, that we can build a good and humane society without God, is pure folly.”  — Charles Colson