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Set your affection on things above (a family worship idea)

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Set your affection on things above (a family worship idea) | Hasten Home [image: flower]

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Over on Facebook one morning, I came across a verse that I thought would be very nice to share for family worship: Colossians 3:1,2. In the King James, it reads like this:

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God….

My first question for my children was, “Where is this talking about?” Strawbriella wondered if that meant Heaven; and of course, she was right.

So I continued:

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

I pointed out that that would mean Heaven is what we are thinking about; it’s where our focus would be. Now, I love how the Holy Spirit guides our conversations with the children to help them (and us!) gain deeper understanding of His Word.

When I asked what that would mean, I got some “works” answers: obeying, being kind…. So I got a bit more specific: “What would we be thinking about?”

Set your affection

The answer: “God. Serving God.” Yes… but why?

Is serving God enough to motivate you?” If you take that down to its most basic level, is that enough to motivate you? With no other information, of and by itself is “serving God” enough to make us press on when the going gets rough and the temptations are on every side?

I daresay I agree with Strawbriella. “No.”

Now, if you have built a loving relationship with this God over the years… if you have seen His mercy, His love and His grace o’er and o’er… the simple thought of “God” may very well mean a whole lot more to you that just some being that we are supposed to obey.

But in and of itself, the word is not enough.

So we took it deeper.

“Suppose,” I said, “I had some extra chores that I would like to have done and I said, I have five dollars for whoever is willing to finish these extra chores. What if you did those chores? What would your reward be?”

“Five dollars.” Easy enough.

“Now, think about this. God has promised us a reward if we choose Him. What is that reward?”

“Heaven?”

“Yes! Okay. Now… what does that mean?”

The things above

That turned out to be a tough one. And here’s where it got really cool. I hope you will use this with your children in Sabbath School, Vacation Bible School, or your own family worship. I really do. Check this out.

"The more senses involved in an activity, the stronger the impression it makes." Set your affection on things above (a family worship idea) | Hasten Home [image: lion, grapes, dolphin, flower]

The more senses involved in an activity, the stronger the impression it makes.

I was a little surprised to hear that Strawbriella’s initial answers were feelings: “happiness, peaceful….” That was a great start.

I wanted her (and me ;)) to really almost feel what it was like to be there. The more senses involved in an activity, the stronger the impression it makes. So this is where we went next:

What do you see?

God, animals… And I think this turned into a discussion on houses. Strawbriella’s Sabbath School friends apparently had some pretty neat ideas about the kinds of houses they expected to live in in Heaven. A huge clamshell with another huge clamshell for a bed and sea creatures to share her space with. A tree house where the monkeys would love to play, too….

Somewhere along the line, Strawbriella wondered if her older sister would be able to see the sunset in Heaven. Samantha is partially color blind and just does not see the beauty in the changing sky that some of us take for granted. And so we got into a discussion on the sun and the moon — and living in God’s glory.

I believe there may very well be a sunset of sorts in Heaven, although the Bible is certainly clear on one thing: darkness and shadows will be a thing of the past!

What do you hear?

Angels, the voice of God (I believe that answer was Little Brother’s), music. I thought about birds and gently bubbling water. My thoughts were almost never along the same line as the children’s. I made sure to let them lead and have a primary place in the conversation.

What do you feel? What can you touch?

A lion’s mane! One definitive answer. :)

I told them their daddy’s favorite dream: water. He wants to feel the water — swimming with the dolphins, that is. And I said, “How about the earth?” as I slowly scooped some imaginary soil in my hand.

I believe this is where the question came up about gardens: Will we have our own? And, ooh, is the Bible clear on that one, huh! Not only will we grow our own food, we will eat it, too! 😉 That’s a big one in our family, where life circumstances have many times ruined that for us.

And Little Brother said something very special: We will touch… God. Wow. Gives me goosebumps. Sometimes my adult mind is a bit superficial, I fear. To touch Him.

"To be touched by God" - Set your affection on things above (a family worship idea) | Hasten Home

To be touched by God

Jesus, who is not ashamed to call us brethren. I know what it’s like to squeeze my baby brother when I have not seen him in months — or years. I know what a comfort to be kissed on the forehead by my daddy, or on the cheek by my grandpa. But to be touched by God?

What do you smell?

Little brother said, “Food!” Ooh, yeah! Think of the sweet-smelling fruit! What else?

We came up with grass, flowers, that earth we will be digging in….

Oh, just think about it, friend! Take a few minutes and really relish the thought. And then, go, set your affection on things above.

This is where our thoughts should be, what our hearts should cling to in the “heat” of the day.

Seek them, never let them go. Hasten Home, friends!

…..

Linking up with The Adventist Home Educator’s “Show & Share” this week. :)

 

 

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