Up to this point, the story has been bleak. It has emphasized just how lost and helpless we are to save ourselves. However, it also placed God’s grace on display in His merciful promise of One who would come to justify and forgive us. As I read through the Old Testament, I am always surprised to see all the allusions to Christ and the emphasis on the necessity of His redeeming work strewn throughout Scripture.
When I was thinking about what passage to walk through the kids with when talking about Christ’s substitutionary death, it struck me that the Passover was an essential component. The Lord’s Supper took place within the context of Passover and thus a proper understanding of it is vital. A couple of millennia earlier the Israelites are slaves in Egypt. For the last 400 years, they have languished in captivity. They cry out to the Lord their God, He hears them, and raises Moses to be His messenger of deliverance. Long story short, God breaks the pride and power of the Egyptians through 10 plagues. The last of which demonstrates his power or death. An angel comes and kills all the firstborn in the whole nation. The Israelites are given clear instructions on how to avoid this. By sacrificing a “perfect lamb” and painting its blood in the doorway of their homes, they are passed over and spared. This looks forward to the shedding of Christ’s blood that would serve as the punishment
I. God alone can save
I hope that you talk to your kids about sin because the Bible talks consistently about it. I hope we talk about Christ with every opportunity because he is the only one who can give our kids hope and purpose. One of the greatest temptations humanity wrestles with is self-reliance. It goes by different names, independence, self-determination, etc. What our children need to realize is that the most vital and visceral need they have can only be fulfilled by Christ. The Israelites were helpless to save themselves; they had been enslaved and abused for generations and could not dig themselves out. It took the saving intervention of God to rescue them from slavery, and it will require the same to redeem us from our sins. Our kids don’t need to be better or work harder; they need to be given new life. In the midst of our impotence, the power of God shines through in the ten plagues and the resurrection Christ. Nothing is impossible with God, no sin our kids face is too big for Him to forgive and free them from.
II. God’s Love is put on display in the incarnation.
God’s ability to save us would be meaningless apart from his willingness to do so. When we were lost and alone, we needed someone to step in and redeem us, and God sent His son, Jesus. He laid aside His status and prestige to become fully human. He came and lived years on this fallen and broken earth. He resisted temptation, thereby “becoming the second Adam,” who, unlike the first Adam, lived in total obedience. God’s love is made manifest in his willingness, not only to die on the cross but to live on this blighted planet. When our kids encounter the depths of our sin, they need to be reminded that the love of God is greater still. (Romans 8:30-) We serve a God’s whose love trumps any guilt or shame we could ever have. Where sin increased, grace increased even more.
III. It is incredibly important to remember God’s faithfulness.
The first Passover was a defining event for the people of Israel. For the first time in their history as a nation, they are no longer slaves of Egypt. Their God has been faithful. Now they are preparing to leave the land of captivity and enter the land of promise. God instructed the Israelites to teach their children about God’s saving work and to have an annual time of remembrance. Time and time again the forgetfulness of Israel is displayed in the disastrous decisions they make. These point to an important truth: there is something fundamentally flawed with our memory as human beings. We forget the things we should remember and remember what we should forget. One of the many benefits of regular Scripture reading, memorization, and prayer is that in so doing we regularly come face to face with who God is. While our busyness and circumstances may seek to distract and disorient, God’s word serves as the solid foundation on which our hope is based. Our kids can trust God to do as He said He would now because He has always done so in the past.
In the midst of sin and brokenness, God keeps His promises and is faithful. Jesus is the culmination of that faithfulness and the perfect illustration of His love. Let’s take some time this week to talk with our kids about how faithful God is. Give examples from Scripture and then make it personal. Help your kids to see that a relationship with God makes you part of His family. God doesn’t just care for the Israelites; He cares for all His children. I pray that our kids would come to a deep understanding of their need for Jesus and the great love God has for them.