Heaven = misery?
February 20th, 2007Every night before Daniel goes to bed, I read him some Bible stories and go over his memory verses and catechism questions with him. One of the catechism questions we recently did was, “What effect did the sin of Adam have on all mankind?”
To which Daniel responds, “All mankind is born in a state of sin and misery.”
The past few days we’ve been working on memorizing the Lord’s prayer. And the past couple of nights, here’s what he’s said:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in misery.”
What an answered prayer! I was talking with a guy last night about our burden for family worship and whether he knew anything about catechisms. He didn’t, but lo and behold, (or as Tag Team says “Whomp, there it is!”) - Dr. Ascol has a tidy little series that I can use with my boys.
…done ordered all three. I can’t wait!
Here’s the relevant Q&As from my catechism:
Q. 20. What effect did Adam’s sin have on mankind?
A. Through Adam’s sin, all mankind fell from righteousness and are now born with a fallen, sinful nature.
(Romans 5:12) “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Q. 21. Did God leave all mankind to perish in this state of sin?
A. No; God chose from all eternity to save a people for His own Glory through Jesus Christ.
(2 Timothy 2:10) “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
Each catechism question is linked with a memory verse in the Kingdom Kids Catechism.
http://www.lakeviewbaptist.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=22491&PID=359136
Yeah, Tom’s catechism books are really good, Jason. You’ll like them. They’re broken up into verses to learn by age, and he’s got a good overall outline of how to proceed through the book with your kids. Daniel gets excited every time he gets a new verse or catechism question right, and we can mark down the date he said it first the first time.
I just looked at your catechism, Klay, and it looks good as well. Do you have that in a handy-dandy booklet?
I think Daniel has more insight than we might think. We’re expecting “heaven,” so Tim’s question seems appropriate. However, Daniel changed the thought structure, not just a word, with his statement. If the kingdom doesn’t come, if God’s will isn’t done, the earth remains in misery. Read again what Daniel said, “your will be done on Earth as it [the Earth] is in misery.”
Thanks, Daniel, for praying for us.
Perhaps what Daniel was saying was “as it is in Missouri”. This could be the result of the high view of the Cardinals in the household.
Achh! Ray, don’t encourage him. He already has the kid wearing Pujols jerseys! I almost called Child Protective Services when I saw that
I’ll ship it out to you.
Out of the mouth of babes…
I have never laughed so hard. Just for that, you’ve just further confirmed my wonderings about whether catechising our children (when we have children, that is) is a good thing.
Expect to find this in the latest ‘remix’ the The Message Bible!!