Truths that Confront
One of my favorite summer memories growing up was taking trips to Kings Island, especially if it was with a church group. I loved the roller coasters, the log rides, the antique cars you could “drive,” the funnel cakes, and I always looked forward to the ascent up the Eiffel Tower. The top offered a cool breeze on a hot afternoon, and a view of the whole park from a high vantage point.
This was all great until the day the guy standing next to me said, “I wonder what it must be like standing at the top of the real Eiffel Tower.” What do you mean real? We are at the top, aren’t we? It was then that I learned that the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island was a 1/3rd scale copy of the real Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Now we’ve all had this experience where you hear something new and your first reaction is to write it off or doubt it. I’m guessing people who were first told that the world was round reacted this way. We all have to decide what to do with a new piece of information, especially if the new information is true and should replace the old information. I had to embrace this new understanding about the Eiffel Tower. What I thought was so amazing just a couple of hours from my home was actually a shrunken copy of the real thing many thousands of miles away. I could still appreciate it for what it was but recognize that it was not all I thought it was.
Every day we have to decide what we’re going to do when faced with the truths of Scripture. Are we going to continue to believe things that we learned in this world that are lesser copies of a true reality, or will we renew our minds with the truth of God’s Word? This is why we memorize Scripture. We memorize verses like Romans 12:2 that talk about the importance of renewing our mind, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Our kids are getting a chance to renew their minds with biblical truth all week long at Vacation Bible School. One theme this week is “when I feel alone I can trust Jesus.” Each day Lauren has a child come up on stage and quote the verse of the day and repeat the theme. What a powerful truth to drive home at a young age! My prayer is that they would lean on these truths throughout life.
This is also the reason we’re studying Proverbs on Sunday mornings, to renew our minds with ancient wisdom for a modern age. Last week we looked at how to use our words with wisdom. This Sunday we will look at how important our friendships are in shaping who we become. Be praying for our kids this week, and pray for opportunities to tell others about the Good News of Jesus Christ all across the South End of Louisville!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash