Blood

This morning Jenna was talking about the Last Supper. Maybe that seems weird to some, but around our house, it's not uncommon for us to hear them pondering different aspects of who God is, what He's done for us, and how He loves us. We talk about it all the time.

In fact, it brings me great joy to hear them incorporate aspects of the reality of God and our life with Him into other activities that seem to have little to do with "spiritual things", like playing in the dirt or pretending to shop for groceries. (Of course, I think all things have a spiritual component and many of us just ignore it on a regular basis. But, that's beside the point of this post.)

So, as Jenna talked about the Last Supper, the conversation went something like this:

Jenna: Then they all ate.
Me: Yep.
Jenna: Then, they drank His blood.
Me: Well, not exactly. They didn't drink Jesus' blood. They were drinking wine and Jesus said it represented His blood.
Jenna: Yeah, then He died and His blood came out and they drank it.
Me: No, they didn't drink it then either. They never drank Jesus' blood. He gave the disciples the Passover wine and was telling them what He was about to do--die on the cross.
Jenna: Yeah, they drank wine.
Me: He was telling them that He was about to shed His blood for their sins. He was talking about the Passover lamb and explaining that He was the Lamb. Remember how we talked about the lamb?
Jenna: Yeah. ... (trails off saying something like "I like lambs. Do you like lambs? I like elephants, too. ...)

Then, today I saw this quote by Calvary Road author Roy Hession:

Let every mention of the Blood call to mind the deep humility and self-surrender of the Lamb, for it is this disposition that gives the Blood its wonderful power with God.

My job as a mom is to direct and teach my kids. I teach them lots of things. Many of us get caught up in the academic things like letters, numbers, colors, reading, math, writing. We teach them about animals and plants and how things work. We also teach them morals like being nice and kind and forgiving others.

But, the most important thing I want my kids to learn is that God loves them and died so He can have a relationship with them. I want them to know the gravity of Jesus' sacrifice. This quote today reminded me of my conversation this morning, be it ever so brief, with Jenna. Bit by bit, she's getting it. She knows she messes up. And, she knows Jesus loves her. As she continues to grow, I want her understanding to grow right along with her.

Pray that I can parent for God's glory. Pray I will stay close to Jesus and pray my children will come to know Jesus personally and intimately. Everything else pales in comparison.