Spring is a great time to have fun with your kids and teach them some of the parables of Jesus at the same time. Parables are great. They were short stories told by Jesus that helped people understand more difficult spiritual concepts by using things they encountered in their every day lives.
Because Israel in the time of Jesus still had many people who spent time or lived in more rural areas, many of the parables deal with livestock or growing things. Unfortunately our children, who tend to live in more suburban and urban areas may not have a lot of experience with either farm animals or growing plants. When they hear some of the parables and their meaning, they may understand it a little by the words, but they don’t have that core understanding the culture of the time gave the initial listeners.
A few months ago experts found evidence that behind an average battle scene painted by a man named Vasari (who is actually famous for his writing, not art) is a work by Leonardo da Vinci. For centuries now, people have walked by this average mural not realizing a fabulous masterpiece had been painted over to create the current painting. Someone though saw something others missed and did the research to find the masterpiece hidden below what is obvious to the eye.
Have you ever caught yourself saying “Because I’m the parent and I said so” to your kids? If you haven’t yet, you probably will at least once before your kids reach adulthood. There is actually value to teaching your kids to obey for the sake of obeying, especially when they are young. Having children who will immediately comply with your commands can literally save their lives.
How many hours do you think you have spent reading to your child? How many library books have you had in your house? How much time have you spent listening to your child practice reading with materials sent from school? How many conversations have you had with your child’s school teachers over the years about reading levels, comprehension and more?
Does your family have some favorite family stories? You know, the ones told so many times everyone knows the words by heart. Do you remember the words to your favorite song from high school? When it comes on the radio, can you crank it up and sing it like you did back then? You probably can even picture the car you drove when the song was popular or picture other scenes from that time as you sing along years later.