Here's a friendly Easter tip. If you want to teach your 3 year old about the real meaning of the Easter holiday, do not simply rely on her children's bible without first reading the story to yourself and deciding if its appropriate.
Last Sunday at Grace Fellowship we had a sort of preparatory Sunday for the big Easter Celebration. One of our leaders did a great job pointing out how blessed we are because of how sinful we are and just how badly we need a savior. He started by saying that you may leave feeling like things are unresolved by not coming to the conclusion of the risen Savior at the end of the service, but that was OK because it is a good week to be in reflection on needing Jesus and what His death meant for us which is the gift of salvation through faith!!!
However this kind of set up is not good for a 3 year old. Her summary of Sunday school was that bad guys beat Jesus up and put Him on a cross. When I asked her about why He was on the cross she didn't know. I told her it was so that all of the bad stuff she did called sins would be forgiven forever and that he took all of her punishment (she knows what that word is ;o). Then after I read to her from her children's bible page after page of people selling Him out and people beating Him up, and the mean things, she just couldn't get past the fact that it said His heart broke in two. She needed to see what it looked like for someones heart to be broken in two!
So now I wish I could take it all back and start over. I was so discouraged. I wanted her to understand that God loved her and everyone so very much that he had a son who was born just for the reason that He could die for them. The bible says it pleased God to do it and it pleased Jesus to carry it out! He was HAPPY to die for her, me, you etc... I want her to know that, but all she knows is that his skin was torn and he got poky thorns on his head and mean guys killed him.
So I think ill take the next few days and focus on the post tomb part of the story and see if I can get her to remember that part as well.
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3 comments:
I so agree! I kept the kids (except Lillie who played on my iPad the whole time) out of service last week because I feel like there is an age appropriate time to leave it unresolved, but when they are kids, it is best to explain the story in it's entirety. We never read the crucifixion without also reading the resurrection. However, the fourth service was different and not so heavy. We also keep the crucifixion at an age appropriate violence level. We tell the facts, but leave out the gory details until they can handle it without confusion or trauma. I can barely handle the violence. As a kid, I HATED Easter and I don't want my kids to grow up feeling the same way.
Awww, thanks for sharing, Katie! I'll keep this in mind next year when Sylvia's a little older. The thought of explaining heartbreak to a kid...well...it breaks my heart to think about it! I never thought about the challenges of the Easter Story and how to convey the message to little ones. Good food for thought.
Yes, three too young for such detail. Zoning in on a little bit more of the story each year is probably a better plan. Right now she just needs to know that she does sin/makes sinful choices but God will be faithful to forgive her if she asks for forgiveness. And you can keep saying the words "because Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for all of our sins"...but she isn't going to get it for awhile. The celebration is that he ROSE AGAIN! Have her put on her wedding veil and dance to Rise Again!
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