When I was a young boy , I remember working in our backyard garden with my grandmother . One day she held out a rough , callused palm on which I could see a few dark specks . “ Do you know what these are ?” she asked . I could see they were seeds , but didn ’ t know what kind , so I shook my head . “ These are carrots ,” she said with certainty , convinced the tiny specks would one day turn into a plant with large orange roots and feathery greens . Then she instructed me to drop the seeds every inch along a furrow she cut with a hoe . So began my love for seed planting . gospel seed sown in fertile soil sprouts and grows and multiplies to produce a harvest thirty , sixty , and even a hundredfold more ( Matthew 13:23 ).
To grow carrots , you plant carrot seeds . To grow Christians , you must sow the true gospel . Not any message will do . Too many gospel presentations for children are so watered down there is no gospel left . There is little gospel in the statement , “ You need to ask Jesus into your heart ,” or in the question , “ Who would like to become a forever friend of Jesus ?”
Seeds are an incredible example of God ’ s design . Little superheroes , they can survive freezing temperatures , forest fires , and prolonged drought . Seeds can lie dormant for decades and still sprout . Seeds look dead but hold all the plant ’ s DNA instructions to sprout and grow . A plant that springs to life from a tiny seed can grow to produce an abundant harvest .
Our children need good theology . That is why I write books to help parents teach sound doctrine to their children . Children need to know they are sinners , helpless to save themselves . If they don ’ t understand their problem , they won ’ t see their need for rescue . Children need to understand that because of their sins , they are enemies of a just and holy God who must punish sin .
Fifty years later , I still enjoy gardening , but my favorite seed to plant is the seed of salvation , the gospel , in a child ’ s heart . I plant this seed with the same faith my grandmother did . I believe the theologically true gospel , planted in the soil of a child ’ s heart contains all the truth needed to sprout new life . The seed of the gospel lies dormant in the heart until God causes it to sprout , grow , and yield a harvest of righteousness . As Jesus said , the
Our children need to know that Jesus died as their substitute on the cross , bearing the wrath of God in their place . Trusting Jesus for salvation requires more than making him your friend . God requires both repentance ( turning away from sin ) and faith ( believing and trusting in the death and resurrection of Christ ). At the start of his ministry , Jesus said , “ The time is fulfilled , and the kingdom of God is at hand ; repent and believe in the
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