Andrew had found something amazing. Today, he met someone he never expected to live to see. This wasn’t some celebrity sighting, it was much more personal. In fact, the person he had met wasn’t even known by many people, but Andrew couldn’t contain his growing excitement. He spent the afternoon questioning a man named Jesus about why his teacher, John, would call him the “Lamb of God”. “Lamb of God”! A title so rich in history, symbolism, and redemption could not possibly refer to this man and yet, in only a few short hours, Andrew had been convinced. This Jesus is the King, the Priest, and the Prophet foretold by Moses. Jesus is the Messiah! Isaiah had declared that the Messiah was,

To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners
(Isaiah 61:1).

Unable to control his excitement any longer, Andrew had to tell someone. “Where is my brother, Simon?” he whispered. “I must tell him first.” (Read about it in John 1:28-42).

We don’t know how many people Andrew walked past to find his brother, but Scripture is clear that he went to find Simon FIRST. Andrew needed to tell family, but he didn’t just have a conversation with Simon. Andrew brought him to meet Jesus personally. We see this same pattern with other people after meeting Jesus. Neither could the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria keep her enthusiasm inside any longer. She left her water pot and hurried back to town to tell those closest to her about her conversation with the Messiah. Many believed and Jesus stayed 2 days. (Read about it in John 4:7-43).

It is natural that we desire to see our family, especially our children, come to know Christ. These are the ones closest to us and we care the most about them. Like so many who have met and surrendered to Jesus as the Messiah, we yearn for our children to know the joy of walking a life, hand in hand, with the King. We want them to live a life of liberty and freedom, but where do we begin? Children have difficulty thinking about and understanding abstract concepts that bring us to the realization that we need a savior. The church is definitely available to assist parents and have an obligation to present the Good News of Jesus to children clearly and often. In fact, at Indian Creek, we work at presenting the gospel each time we have the honor of caring for children. However, parents must take the initiative to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children in their own family. Deuteronomy clearly places the onus upon parents to tell their children about the way to meet the Messiah.

Start by telling stories. Children love stories. Chances are your child’s room has books with some amazing stories teaching them many things they need for life. There is nothing they need more than to meet Jesus. We have several resource in our library that tell the stories of scripture for children and you are welcome to use any of them. Most importantly, tell them the story of YOUR life with Jesus. I encourage you to talk to your children this week about who led you to Jesus. How did you meet Him? What were the circumstance? How does your relationship with Jesus continue to grow and change?

Like Andrew and the Samaritan woman, talk with your children about your salvation. Get excited! Jesus is worth talking about and your children are worth telling.