Children’s Lesson 27

IT’S YOUR CHOICE

If you have ever been to a sports stadium, you have seen many banners and pictures of the team and its heroes that have played there.  In Texas, USA, if you go to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, you will see banners of Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, etc.   The fans often wear jerseys and buy items with team emblems, or players names on them. Everything is about the Cowboys!  The Team.

It’s different when going to a Presidential Library. It’s the Presidentā€™s name on the front of the library. Inside you would see his pictures, his statue, and his quotes throughout the building, among other things that would remind you of the President and his life. The library is built to honor one person instead of a team.

It’s the same with God. Everything is built and centered around One Person, Jesus.  Jesus doesnā€™t have a library though.  God talks about a much bigger ā€œhouseā€ that is built by Jesus: in the house of Creation. Paul writes in Colossians 1:16 and 17,  ā€œIn Him/Jesus, all things were created, in Heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things have been created THROUGH Him and FOR Him. He is before all things, and all things hold together IN Him. 

All things are created THROUGH Him and FOR Him and IN Him.

All things come THROUGH Him – He created them all, so His signature is on everything, like when a painter signs his paintings. Walk into the home of a famous sportsperson – you can tell by the pictures and trophies and awards that it is his home. The same goes for Creation.  

Romans 1:20 tells us that creation itself shows us there is a God.  Itā€™s like a trophy with Jesusā€™ name on it.  ā€œFor ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualitiesā€”his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God.ā€

Did you ever look it insects and wonder about their tiny hairy legs or strange eyes, etc?  Have you seen something in nature so beautiful that you just knew there was no way it just ā€˜happenedā€™ to look like that?  How about the mirror?  Have you looked at yourself and tried to count your eyelashes or wondered how you got 2 sets of teeth so that you didnā€™t have to live your whole life trying to eat with little-bitty baby teeth?  Creation, including YOU, proves God exists.

Think also of the little word FOR that is used. All things are FOR Him. He created the universe for Himself.  It wasnā€™t until later than he decided to create mankind. (Also for Himself)  

Did you know that you were created FOR Jesus?  He wanted you or you would not exist.  Just like He wanted the universe.  He wanted you to be who you are.  We all have things we wish were different about ourselves.  Some things we can change, like the color of our hair.  But some things are not meant to be changed.  Jesus didnā€™t make a mistake when he created the universe and he didnā€™t make any mistakes when He created YOU.

Did you know that you were created for Jesus?  How special is that?!  You are Special and wonderful just the way you are.  Psalm 139:13-14 says, ā€œFor you/Jesus formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my motherā€™s womb.  I praise you, for I am awesome and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.ā€   Your soul (the part of you that lives forever)  knows how special you are.  Sometimes you need to remind your MIND that you are special.  You were created FOR Jesus.  That is pretty amazing!  Right?

But that’s not the end of it by far. Paul says that all things hold together IN him, too. That means that nothing could exist or would exist if Jesus didn’t give it the power to live or design it to live that way. He is the divine glue that keeps everything sticking together as much as it does. 

What are some things that only Jesus can ā€˜hold together?ā€™   (Gravity, the spinning of the planets, our breath {try holding itā€¦.you canā€™t. He MAKES you breathe.  Even if you hold it until you faint, you will breathe the second you faint.}, the seasons, the weather, the edges of the oceans so they donā€™t cover the landā€¦etc)

There is one thing different from us than with all other things He created. We have a choice to please the one who created us.  He will not force you to choose to follow Him. He created you and me for Him, but we must choose to accept Him and follow Him. 

Colossians 1:13-14 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Think of how Paul experienced this. In his words, Paul said,  “I was a Pharisee of Pharisees.” Paul was as outspoken as one could be against Christianity. He considered Jesus to have been a false Messiah. He hated Christians.  At one point, he asked for and received special permission from the government to go to Damascus and have Jesus and His followers put in prison. 

On his way there, Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus in a vision. Paul heard Jesus speak to him and was temporally blinded by this vision. It was after Jesus sent one of His followers to pray for Paul, that he regained his sight. It was after his experience with these believers along with his “on the road encounter” that he believed Jesus to be the Savior of all humanity. 

It’s the same for you today. IT’S YOUR CHOICE to believe and confess that Jesus is the Savior of the world. If you have made that choice, then God has rescued you from darkness and brought  you into the Light of Jesus, In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

If you have been saved/ rescued from the darkness, you are now not only Jesusā€™ creation, but you are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Just like the Presidential Library, you are ā€˜builtā€™ to honor Jesus the Creator.  

When others see you, do they see Jesus?  Do they see in you the things that remind them of Jesusā€™ lifeā€™s work? Does your life honor the one FOR whom you were created?  

Are banners and pictures of Jesus hanging on the walls of your heart? They can only be there if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord. IT’S YOUR CHOICE!

Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication