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Dear Friends,

Each week, representatives from our church lead a story and craft for the preschool children on our campus as we make our way through the Jesus Storybook Bible. In today’s lesson, we heard about Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den in Babylon where certain death awaited him. Yet, as scripture teaches us, God sent an angel to rescue Daniel by closing the mouths of the lions and protecting him from harm. Through this passage, we are reminded of the God we have in Christ who came to rescue us from pits of despair and death. 

Preschoolers are observant. They know when something seems logical and when their expectations are being upended. As soon as I finished speaking, a clever three-year-old mused, “Wow. That story was really strange.” The jury of her peers quickly nodded along and voiced their agreement. In the next class, an observant four-year-old added, “This story is really weird.” Again, her comments were followed by a chorus of affirmations.    

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we proclaim some very odd things that we call truth. The lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, and lions become as cuddly as kittens. To be effective witnesses, we have to stop worrying what others will think about us. Even children recognize that our stories are weird. Logically, our neighbors will ask, “How could you possibly believe that?” They may decide that we are foolish and choose to distance themselves from us. Sooner or later, those who follow The Way learn that expressing the strangeness of our proclamation is no easy task. Still, we endeavor to keep the faith knowing that the good news of Jesus cannot be contained – by the strangeness of the miracles, the head-scratching reversals of the parables, or the absurdity of the cross and resurrection. The Bible is weird. What else would we expect from the scriptures that lead us to new life?     

Peace and best wishes,

Jon