Last summer I wrote a series of lessons for the children’s Bible Class time at our church. The children spent the summer re-living some of the events in the life of Jesus. One of the favorite weeks was what became known as “donkey day”. As the “owner” of the donkey recounted the story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the children got to re-inact the event. Of course everyone, including some teens who stopped by after class, wanted a donkey ride.
The donkey’s true owner pointed out something interesting about donkeys. On the back of every donkey, you will find this:
That’s right. God placed a cross on the back of every donkey. We taught the children to look for the cross on the backs of any donkey they may see and remember the story of Jesus. The incident helped me recall the importance of visual cues for remembering important things.
What if we found other visual cues to help our children remember God and His teachings every time they saw those things? God knew how helpful visual cues could be. I think that is why he taught Noah to remember God’s promise to not flood the entire earth again every time Noah saw a rainbow.
There are a multitude of items we could use as visual cues for our children. I don’t think the legends that go with them are necessary, especially as we have no way of knowing if they are true. Just keep reminding your child that every time he sees a certain item, he should remember a specific Bible story or characteristic of God.
Christian jewelry is an obvious example of a visual cue. We even gave our daughter a special cross necklace after her baptism with the date of her decision engraved on it. We want her to remember her decision to follow God every time she wears it.
There are so many other things in nature or in your world that you can use. For me, every time I see the rays of sun shine through the clouds in a certain way, I think of Moses receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai. In Virginia, there were stones you could find in a certain area of the state. They looked like little crosses. We spent an entire afternoon of my childhood trying to find ones that looked the most like the cross of Jesus.
Maybe you can teach your child that every time the flowers bloom, she should remember God’s love for us because of the beauty He created for us to enjoy. The clouds in the sky might help him remember how God watches over us just like He did the Israelites in the desert.
Have fun with it. Let your older children help you discover things that can help them remember God’s love for them. If you run across a donkey in the process, take a ride, but look for the cross on his back. After all, the cross is an important story to remember!