Texas Border Business
By Carey Kinsolving and Friends
“God likes people because he made them on the last day,” says Sarah, age 6. I suppose Sarah’s idea is that God saved the best for last.
“God enjoys us because we are quiet people,” says Kasey, 6. I wonder if we should get a second opinion from your mother, Kasey.
“God enjoys the sound of hummingbirds, little babies and pianos,” says Mary, 8. “He probably enjoys cartoons when he is not busy reading poems by famous authors.”
While you’re listening, take a deep breath and enjoy the fragrance, says Emily, 6: “God created the flowers because they smell so good.”
While you’re enjoying the fragrances, listen for hoofbeats in unusual places, says Nicki, 6. “God enjoys unicorns and flying horses because they can fly up to heaven.”
Hummingbirds, flowers and babies are all part of God’s creative genius, but what he really wants is conversation, says Nathan, 10: “God created creation so he wouldn’t be alone, so there wouldn’t be just a big space. God wanted someone to talk to.”
It’s important to remember that God didn’t have to create in order to enjoy relationships. It’s easy to think of God as the lone ranger, but he is the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have always enjoyed perfect love and camaraderie.
Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves when “they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). It would seem as if a walk in the garden with God was something they had done previously, perhaps on a regular basis.
In a world where we feel misunderstood, isolated and lonely, it’s hard to imagine that our address was once paradise. Perfect harmony with God, people and even the animals was a way of life, not just something the writers of fairy tales imagine.
“I think God enjoys people mostly because he can commune with them through the Holy Spirit,” says Ashley, 10. “God is able to have a personal relationship with them. Through Jesus, God is able to teach us the right things to do, to think and to say to other people.”
God loves compassion in his people, says Tiffany, 11: “God especially enjoys watching us read the Bible and watching us help others. He loves it when we give money to the poor or food to an orphanage.”
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll in the synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18).
In speaking on behalf of Habitat for Humanity, former President Jimmy Carter said that most upper-middle-class people in America don’t even know a poor person.
Ministering to the poor requires getting out of our comfort zones. Remember, Jesus left heaven to minister to us. He created rich and poor in his own image.
When it comes to God’s economy, we’re all poor and needy. Yet God showed our value in his creation when he demonstrated his love in the ultimate sacrifice, says Abby, 8: “I think God enjoys us most because he gave his life for us.”
Think about this: As parents enjoy their children, God wants to delight in us.
Remember this truth: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Corinthians 1:9).
Ask this question: Have you ever experienced God’s delight in living dependently by his higher life?
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Kids Talk About God is designed for families to study the Bible together. Research shows that parents who study the Bible with their children give their character, faith and spiritual life a powerful boost. To receive Kids Talk About God three times a week in a free, email subscription, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/email.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CAREY KINSOLVING
