The Playground

Galatians 4:13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

As we grow in Christ, what is the next step after toddler? I suspect the playground might be a good focal point. Mother or father might take you to the playground with a mind to burn off some of that exuberant energy and provide a safe place to play. Being an older Christian we have already experienced play things, perhaps to our own hurt. What might we learn?

You already have a set of playmates in place. Some of them might well be family members. As with all things new, you will naturally want to share good news with those in your life. This means a certain amount of confession which will make those you know best uncomfortable. Why? It is because those things which you played with before and have turned away from, they still play with them. In this moment you place yourself in danger of rejection.

My first attempt at witnessing was to my older brother whom I loved. I was not wise enough to understand my own family dynamics and soon discovered my brother held a deep seeded resentment towards me. It surfaced suddenly and painfully when I told him I was a Christian. The vile contempt he displayed to me was the most painful rejection I have ever endured and in some ways I still suffer from it.

Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

This perhaps is the most difficult and painful lesson of the playground. It is Christ they reject and not you.

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

It is hard not to take rejection personally.

2 thoughts on “The Playground”

  1. Rejection by family members is difficult. It is with those whom love most, we wish to share Christ.

    A wiser brother once said, “New Christian should be caged for a season.”

  2. Ern, might be wise but I hate to kill the zeal. It might not come back when desired. But then, God is in charge, so if called upon, obey.

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