A Community of the Kingdom Character
Dear COAH,
The world in which our children will live will be more secular and pluralistic than ever before. As we look around us, secularism, which is hostile to any organized religion, will grow stronger, and religion, which emphasizes and displays religious rituals and codes of behavior, will seek to make its presence known even more so. On a spectrum from atheism to hardline religion like Islam, our children will live in a complex spiritual landscape. How should Christians present themselves in this world?
Secularists exclude religious color. In France, for example, civil servants are not allowed to wear crosses or hijabs. Hardline Muslims, on the other hand, emphasize outward appearance. Muslim women must wear a hijab or niqab, and all Muslims must observe Ramadan strictly. What path should Christianity take? The Bible emphasizes the right character. It emphasizes the Kingdom's character for the people of God. We are to reflect the glory of God through our character before the watching world.
Our children's faith will be unshakable when they emulate the character of Jesus Christ. They will also be in the best position to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, when they display the Kingdom character, as taught in Jesus' beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12. As teachers of our children, we must first strive to instill these character traits in us and then in our children. We can play a significant role in shaping the future generation. Even though we have limited time with our children in church school instruction, we must do our best to teach them in conjunction with the parents' home education.
Let’s familiarize ourselves with the Beatitudes. The Kingdom people look like this: Those who recognize their inadequacies before God and are always humble (the poor in spirit); those who mourn because they see a world overflowing with evil; those who are meek and willing to share what little they have with those who are needy; those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness and refuse to turn away but help the oppressed; those who are merciful to people in need and distress; those who are pure in heart and may see God because the Word and the Spirit sanctify their hearts; those who are peacemakers wherever they go, not taking sides, but making peace; and finally those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, not afraid of death for the sake of the Lord, but always proclaiming the truth.
The Lord taught and showed the disciples to be the light and salt of the world. He taught them to live in a community as the people of the Kingdom of God. Now, it is up to us to walk that way and to teach our children in our church school and at home. May our children display the Kingdom character and bring the next generation closer to the Kingdom of God.
Blessings,
Pastor Minho Song