Through the Eyes of a Child

A child sees the world so differently than we do. Just recently, my son made a remark about the "Top Secret" section of the newspaper. Perplexed by his comment, I began to question him. I finally realized he was talking about the "classifieds". It made me smile and then I filled him in as to what the classifieds really were and were not. It reminded how literal kids are and how easy it is to misinterpret. Many times we, as  parents, have to enlighten our children to educate them.

A father and son enjoying the early morning vista.

Whether we realize it or not, as Christian parents, we interpret God's love and mercy for humanity to our children. Their little eyes and ears take in so much information and when we least expect it at that. They are listening when we talk about how we should feed the hungry and help the sick and then watch us when there is a person in need directly in front of us. They take it all in; our mood, our words, our body language and our tone. Are we serving because we desire to show the  love of Christ or did someone put you on the spot? Maybe it's a homeless family you see at the park or someone who is broken down on the side of the road. What do we typically do? What is our initial reaction? Our kids are paying attention and we are transparent to them. But when we model the same love and mercy that God offers us to others, that has an impact on who they become as people. Just as it changes us to serve others in the name of the Lord, it changes our children to see us put our faith in action.