Representing God

Elijah also represents the Palmetto State

We have a talent show almost every Friday at in the after school program. Early on, we had to outlaw the kids from doing back  hand springs and flips. It was incredible, but gave us leaders mini heart attacks every time.

Some kids do dances, some sing pop songs, some jump rope and hula hoop. We’ve even had some skits. It’s a great time to encourage kids to be creative and showcase their talents (or lack thereof).

Our own kids have really gotten into it. Hannah likes to do cartwheels, especially with other girls. Elijah has memorized and performed songs like “Dynamite” with some other boys his age. Sender dances and rolls around on the floor. My favorite was when they wrote, practiced, and performed their own silent drama, called “The Life Cycle of a Carrot.”

Last month, Elijah mentioned early in the week that he and one of his closest friends were going to perform a new song, as suggested by his friend. That was a good thing in my mind, since he has done “Dynamite” about 6 times in the talent show, and about 600 times in our house.

But later in the week, I asked him what song they were doing. He told us the name, and we googled the lyrics. It was evident that the song wasn’t appropriate, and therefore we said that he wasn’t allowed to sing it.

Elijah got really sad, especially since the boys had been practicing the song all week. He was right; I should have been more intentional and active to look at the words earlier.

I explained that the words and ideas in the song were not honoring to God, and he understood what we meant. The hard part was how he would tell his that he couldn’t do this song, and how his friend might react. Here were some things that we discussed as we talked through that:

• The most important thing is what would glorify God. That needs to be our main focus.
• By explaining his desire to honor God (and without pushing his beliefs on his friend), Elijah had a chance to testify about God.
• Not only could he testify about God, but Elijah had the privilege of representing God to his friend. This boy might not know  anyone else who is standing up for God.
• In His grace, God has allowed Elijah the chance to live out his faith.

Elijah is learning what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus and to honor God. I’m so thankful that our Lord is giving Elijah the opportunities to grow in his faith.

“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!'”  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Related Links:

• The End of the School Year
• A Rough Start, But God Is Faithful