4C. Jesus Teaching with a Child as an Object

On one occasion, Jesus used another type of teaching method endowing a heavenly meaning to objects. Jesus was teaching the people about faith in God and the foolishness of worrying about possessions, even the daily needs in life. Perhaps he noticed a flock of birds fluttering in a nearby grove of trees. "Look at the birds flying around," he exclaimed, "they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns: yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than the birds?" (Matthew 6:26). The next moment, he maybe spotted a flower. "Why worry about clothes" he said, "Look how the wild flower grows!" He might even have taken the fragile blossom between his fingers and held it up for all to see. They might even have been sitting on a grassy hillside surrounded by hundreds of the small fragrant blooms.

Object Teaching

Just as Jesus held up an object to teach a truth, so the Sunday school teacher can do the same. Try showing the class some dry popcorn kernels as an illustration of the self-centered life, then pop them in a popcorn maker as a visual picture of the change that Jesus makes in a person's life. How different the fluffy end product is from the original. As an added bonus, the kids get to eat the visual aids at the end of the lesson! Another of my favourites was to hand a young Christian an object like a key, coin, railway ticket, stamp, stone or match stick and ask them to speak for one minute on what this object tells them about their Saviour. Jesus used people in the best possible sense in His teaching.

Person Teaching

Many children do not like to be left alone at bedtime. One such little girl wanted her mother to stay with her. "You've got your doll," said her mother. "Your doll will keep you company." "When I'm lonely," the child sobbed, "a doll is no good to me. I want someone with skin on her face."

Objects are sometimes not as good as real people. Jesus also knew this. On one occasion in the middle of an argument between His disciples, He floored them all by bringing a little child into their midst and pointing out, "The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child" (Matthew 18:2-5).

I am not suggesting that the Sunday School teacher bring the best behaved girl out to the front of the class and tell the rest to conduct themselves like her. We can however hold up the lives of ordinary men and women to illustrate some excellence in them that stems from their relationship to God. You might like to relate the adventures of David Livingstone, or Francis of Assisi. In our own time, Mother Teresa, Corrie Ten Boon or Joni tell in different kinds of ways how God is working today. These biographies often contain miraculous events. and in the earthly life of Jesus we find Him performing miracles in order to explain some truth about God.

"Practical Christian Outreach in the Local Church"

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