PREAMBLE

PREAMBLE

“Teach a child in the way he should go;

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

These words taken from Proverb 22:6 speak loudly of the responsibility of parents and caregivers to the children entrusted to them. In these modern days with the advent of such a large and diverse selection of electronic gadgets, our children are bombarded with so many distractions from every direction that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with their spiritual development.

We as adults, often overwhelmed by the demands for survival, are guilty of neglecting our responsibilities of ensuring our children’s growth. We are losing sight of the fact that at this stage children are at their most receptive phase for absorbing information and unless we make an effort to help them, they are likely to acquire wrong information from other sources.

I believe no one is better equipped or better placed to do the job than the parent or the caregiver. By making use of every opportunity to teach the words of Jesus Christ, to read the Holy Bible as well as by setting personal examples we can build our children’s faith and offer them alternative examples to live by. In this way we can prepare them to deal with the many and varied temptations they will face in life as they go forward.

These stories under the banner “The Old Lady and Ana” grew out of a discussion I had with my cousin Starr Sabga during which we lamented that our children are not being exposed to reading and discussing the bible as we were. We both felt that as a result of this we are missing a very important opportunity to expose them to God’s words and running the risk of losing them.

The stories are strictly my interpretation of selected passages from the Bible based on my Christian education and on my own life experience. They are meant for the younger child, as examples of how we may use day to day experiences to learn about God’s word. They are by no means exhaustive but I trust they may serve to get other parents and caregivers to do the same.

If this happens, then I would consider myself fully rewarded.

Friday, August 12, 2011

34. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-1 JOHN 2:9-11(Living with Hate)

Little Ana sat quietly next to her father as he was engrossed in a TV program dealing with the serious problem of political, religious and racial hatred that exists in the community. She could see that he was visibly disturbed since she knew that he has always been against any form of hatred. After the program was completed, Ana sought out her grand mother and asked her:
“Gramma, why is there so much hatred in this world, why do people behave so badly? They pretend to like you, but behind your back they hate you and want to destroy you.”
The old lady, who had also seen the program, knew that it had deeply affected her grand child and recognized that she had to try to help her. She beckoned her to sit with her and as she picked up her trusted bible, said:
“Hate has existed for as long as man has been on earth. It is one of the major weapons that Satan has used, and continues to use, to turn people from God and get control over them. But God has made it clear that he rejects hate in any form. Listen to these words taken from the First Letter of John, Chapter 2, Verses 9-11:”

Anyone who claims to be in the light
but hates a brother or sister,
He is still in the darkness.
Anyone who loves their brother and sister
lives in the light,
and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
But anyone who hates a brother or sister
is in the darkness
and walks around in the darkness.
They do not know where they are going,
because the darkness has blinded them.
“You see, my dear child, God is using light and darkness to teach us the difference. It does not matter what you say or mean, but if there is hatred in your heart you will always be in darkness, walking around aimlessly and blind to the world. But when you have love in your heart your world is clear, there are no obstacles to bring you down. When you live in the light, you do not have to be afraid."
Ana thought for a moment and somewhat confused with the explanation, asked:
“Gramma does that mean that you cannot say that you love God and hate others at the same time?
The old lady nodded affirmatively and replied:
“Indeed that is exactly what I am saying. In fact if you were to read further in the same First Letter of John, Chapter 4, Verse 20, this unequivocally states that you cannot hate a brother and claim to love God at the same time. Let me read it to you:”

If a man says I love God, and hates his brother,
he is a liar:
for if he that loves not his brother whom he has seen,
how can he love God whom he has not seen?
Ana, now convinced, was able to understand why her father was so upset by the people who expressed their hatred in the TV program. She wondered however, how she should treat these people and asked her grand mother what her attitude should be toward those who hate her. The old lady quickly replied:
“My dear Ana, God was absolutely clear in what he expects from us. There are references throughout the Bible instructing us to forgive anyone who sins against us. Perhaps the clearest and the strongest statement is found in Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 5, Verse 44:”

But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;

“God did not mince his words to us. We must love and bless our enemies who curse us, and we must pray and do good to those who hate, despise or persecute us. We have no excuse or reason to do otherwise. Perhaps the best advice I can give you my child on this matter, are the words of Almighty God recorded in Proverbs 10, Verse 12."

........"Take these to heart and be guided by them for the rest of your life.”

Hatred stirs up strife:
But love covers all sins.
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