Painting, Martin Luther And Connecting With Our Children

by Deb Burton

What in the world could those three subjects have in common? A spontaneous teachable moment brought them all together.

We can’t always connect with our children in a meaningful way, but if we continue creating opportunities for being together, eventually that connection will happen. The key is to always be ready to witness the Truth of Jesus Christ to our children. That’s how “real” missionaries do it.

My daughter, Rachel, is making the transition into a smaller bedroom in our new house. Actually, transition is a misnomer. She has yet to figure out what to do with all her stuff, except find a blank spot on the floor or keep it in a box in her closet. Neither one suffices for a solution. I’ve come up with an idea for building a desktop/storage unit, but I wanted to paint the room first before installing it.

So yesterday we began the process of priming the walls, corralling her brother into helping us with the project. We closed the door to keep the dog out and opened windows to let fresh air in.

Conversation was pretty light, at first. That is, until Rachel stepped on the wet paint can lid with her bare feet and began leaving her five-toed identification all over the drop cloth. Conversation tends to pick up when someone’s hopping on one foot around paint trays and step ladders.

The beautiful chimes of St. Edmund’s Catholic Church in town began chiming, and I made an off-hand remark about whether they’d consider a request for a Protestant hymn to be played instead from time to time. So started a conversation about religion vs. relationship, works vs. faith, and how important it is to read the Bible for one’s self to determine the validity of anyone’s teaching.

I have to say, it was a very balanced discussion. We spent just as much time lamenting evangelicals as we did anyone else. At one point, Martin Luther’s name came up and the stand he took for promoting personal scripture reading and a faith-based relationship with the Lord. My son spoke admiringly of his famous words, that if he had done anything wrong according to scripture then he would accept the required punishment for his activities.

After that the conversation turned to the finer points of Weird Al Yankovic’s music and the children were lost in another direction (don’t ask me). Nonetheless, I was pleased for the few moments we had to discuss godly truths and how they apply in our lives.

Missionaries are always “on” for sharing the gospel, utilizing opportunities as they arise to talk, teach, exemplify and demonstrate. Christian parents, as missionaries in their own home, are, by God’s design, always “on” also. Design lots of opportunities for you and your child to be together, whether in work, hobby or other leisure time activity. Whether you share the gospel during these times or not, they will increase you and your child’s connect-ability over time.