Wednesday, February 17, 2010

WADDLE!

Lately I've been having devotions with my 2 year old son. We use this book:



He really likes the book, and with it can easily coax out of him the "w" sound. I can also tickle him at the end when the "alligator's gonna getcha!" and that's important too. Since he likes the book so much, I'm hoping that I can use it to get him to put two sounds together--perhaps he'll say "wad" soon--or maybe say a whole word.

All this is a far cry from teaching him to say, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." But it's definitely a starting point.

Sometimes Christians debate whether we should "waste time" with people's physical needs, such as providing food for medical care, or whether our job is simply to focus on the "spiritual" needs--give them the gospel that saves their soul.

But when I'm with my son, it all seems very simple. If he's going to learn to praise God, he's going to need "w" and all the other letters of the alphabet too. He's going to need to put two syllables together. And come to think of it, providing food and medical care is fairly fundamental as well.

So I wonder, as we think about those around us who need the gospel: what other, fundamental needs must be addressed in their lives if they are to understand and praise God? And what kind of discernment and patience should we exercise if we are to truly do as Jesus said and "love our neighbor as ourselves"?

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