Jesus spent a lot of time with the disciples- just doing life together. They walked together, ate together, and visited together. Throughout the book of Matthew, we read phrases such as “When the disciples saw this, they…” or “When the disciples heard this, they…” They were reacting to real life moments that Jesus used to show the disciples who He was.
In Matthew 17, Jesus took Peter, James and John on a hike up a mountain and He was transfigured before them- His face shining like the sun. A voice from Heaven said “This is my beloved Son…” and “when they heard this” -out of fear and awe, Jesus’ friends nearly passed out!
In Matthew 21:18-22, hungry, Jesus tried to get something to eat from a fig tree with no fruit on it. He cursed it and it withered on the spot. “When they saw this”, the disciples’ mouths dropped wide open.
While Jesus was visiting at the house of Simon the leper, Mary poured very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head. When the disciples “saw this”, they became angry. This woman taught them about true devotion to Christ first-hand. Matthew 26:6-13
In Matthew 19, Jesus and the disciples bumped into the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler went away sad because he loved his possessions too much. The disciples were astounded, wondering, “Then who can be saved?”
Astonished. Afraid. Angry. Confused. The Disciples experienced life with Jesus. Just walking along, interacting with others and experiencing amazing things first-hand.
Here are my questions:
1.What do our kids get to see first- hand?
2. How can we help kids to experience their faith first-hand?
These are excellent questions, Jen. I’ve often thought about how even the basic language we hear when we talk about teaching kids is misleading. The phrases “live out their faith in the real-world” or “apply the Bible to real-life” show a scary worldview where church and the Bible are not “real,” and so there must be some automatic disconnect between Bible truth and “reality.”
I’d say that we must reach a place where, like Jesus did with the disciples, EVERYTHING a child experiences is our chance to show them faith first-hand. A big vague answer for a very specific set of questions, I’m afraid.