Someone once said that the
most difficult teachings we sometimes relegate to kids stories. This includes the stories of David and
Goliath, Jonah, and the birth of Christ.
When you start to dig deeper into these stories, you find messages that
are difficult to put into practice. The theory
is that relegating these to children's stories helps adults to avoid a heavy
message. I wonder if this is not also
true with music?
I think of Jesus Love Me as a children's song, but
the message of the song is pertinent to all people. Some people have trouble with believing that
Jesus truly loves them. I sometimes see
adults sing this song less enthusiastically than other songs. I have found myself looking around the room
for children to sing this song toward them rather than toward other adults. Is this only a kids song with a kid's
message? Then there is a line in the
song, "I will henceforth live for thee," which in some song books has
been toned down to "I will try to live for thee." Is this children's song too demanding that
some adult somewhere had to tone it down?
I sure would rather say to my wife, "I will love you all my
days" rather than "I will try to love you all my days." If I wouldn't say the latter to my wife, why
would I say it to God?
I am also thinking of the
song, Trust and Obey. I remember singing this on the Joy Bus as a
child, and in Sunday School. I typically
think of it as a children's song. It is
so simple with very simple and easy to sing music. But why is this a children's song? Perhaps it was an attempt to reinforce
obedience in children? But does the need
to reinforce faithful obedience stop when a child becomes an adult? Do adults not struggle with faith and
obedience as well? Do we not need to
keep singing songs such as this as a simple reminder? Why would we think this message too simple if
we continue to struggle with faith and obedience?
Then there is Jesus Loves the Little Children. This was a very popular song in children's
church, on the bus, and Sunday School. The
simple reminder in this song is that Jesus loves everyone, regardless of their
nationality, ethnicity, age, or social status.
He "loves the little children of the world." Is that not a message adults need to be
continually reminded of? How often to we
adults need to relearn this message aimed at children?
Maybe there's truth in the
statement that some of the most difficult teachings of the Bible are relegated
to children's messages. That way, we
feel as though we have moved past it and no longer have to deal with it. But I wonder if it is more pride than
anything else. There are times when we
need to be reminded of the simple basics.
The Bible calls us beloved "children" of God. Therefore, his message is always pertinent to
us. We are never too old, big, or mature
for his message.
