“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
My wife is a preschool teacher, and a few years ago, I got to write daily devotions for her class. From what she shared with me, I learned that these devotions had to be different from others I’d written up to that point in time.
For one thing, they had to be shorter. Much, much shorter. A three-year-old just isn’t ready to sit through a 12-minute devotional message—their attention span doesn’t last that long. (And when teachers try to keep an eye on multiple students, they don’t care to read lengthy, three-page devotions either!)
The words themselves needed to be age-appropriate for those listening (no seven-syllable words). It also didn’t hurt to include illustrations—such as an object lesson with a good visual aid—to teach difficult beliefs and biblical concepts like redemption and justification. If you could tie in a well-known Bible song too, great!
Those parameters helped narrow the focus for the devotions. From there, it was just a matter of highlighting as clearly as possible the law and gospel found in the Bible accounts referenced, pointing the children to Jesus, what he did for them, why he did it, and what that means for them.
If nothing else, I wanted them to know that Jesus lived a perfect life for them. He died on the cross to take away their sins. He rose again from the dead so that they could be in heaven with him forever. He did it all because he loved them—and still loves them—so much!
Think of the songs we teach children from early on. Hear the excited, joyous confidence of young Christians with hearts full of faith belting out the words of “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.”
Think of the Bible passages often memorized first. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Think of the cross, the powerful visual that gets pointed to during children’s messages in church. What did Jesus do there? “He died and took away my sins!” Why? “Because he loves me!”
I still need to hear that simple yet profound message as an adult. That vitally important reminder can’t be stressed enough—whether we’re young or old.
Dear Christian, let that matter-of-fact gospel truth—the joyful Easter message we get to celebrate and live in every day—set the tone and shape your entire life. Keep coming back to that message again and again because it never gets old; it never fades away.
Isn’t that essentially what Paul was saying to the Corinthian Christians in the verses quoted at the beginning of this post?
Remember the gospel message, which you have received and believed only by God’s grace. And the knowledge that God loves you for Jesus’ sake is how you stand—despite all the devil’s accusations and sinful temptations that come your way.
Yes, sometimes we falter. We fall and we fail. But, dear Christian, do not despair!
Look to Jesus—to the cross; and the empty tomb—and listen to what Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, promises you in his Word and sacraments: God loves you, your sins are forgiven, and you have a home in heaven waiting for you—not because of what you have done, but entirely because of what he has done for you.
What incredible grace!
That knowledge is what we’re holding on to with a white-knuckled grip throughout life. Jesus loves me. I’m not perfect, but Jesus is. He did that for me. I’m a sinful person, but Jesus took my sins away by dying on the cross. He did that for me. I’m going to die one day, but Jesus rose from the dead. He did that for me. I’m going to be in heaven with Jesus. He loves me. He loves me.
Thank you, Jesus!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.