It was the early 1980’s. Teachers still used flannelgraphs to present their lessons. Coloring pages of Biblical figures awaited us at the table. A posterboard filled with star-shaped stickers revealed who had memorized their verse for the week. These are some of my earliest memories of Sunday School. Every Lord’s Day, my parents would put me in Sunday-best clothes and drop me off for an hour of instruction. According to some of the volunteer teachers, I was not the best student. I would misbehave. I would run around the circle while they tried to teach the lesson. One particular instructor asked my parents for permission to spank me. It is a wonder I learned anything. Still, somewhere amidst the chaos, a truth set itself firmly in my mind.
These stories are real. Unlike bedtime tales and nursery rhymes, the people, places, and events of the Bible took place in actual recorded history. Noah really did build the ark. God truly used Moses to part the Red Sea. Jesus Christ really came from heaven to earth so that we might be saved. The wonder of it all overwhelmed me. It drove my curiosity. I asked questions, and those questions produced more questions. Our world is not the product of accident. Our existence is not relegated to only what we can see with the human eye. God both brought the world into being and is actively at work within it. His hand authors the pages of human history.
This revelation should send us into a state of awe. How can we see the evidence of God in the natural sciences? What evidence of His work can we find in the sand and stone of ancient civilizations? Our world is much more intriguing and wondrous than we imagine it to be. As we grow out of childhood, imagination is one of the things that is often lost. We stop asking questions. We forget to ponder the possibilities. We quit exploring this fascinating world that God has layered with mystery upon mystery.
So let me invite you back...back to the days when your mind would run a mile a minute...to a yesteryear in which you looked at the world as a large playground just waiting to be explored. For just a moment, let go of thoughts that only focus on the chores and responsibilities of today. Recapture the wonder of all that the Lord has made, and let us journey together into the great questions we used to consider. Look for the ark of the covenant. Map out the location of Noah’s ark. Seek and find the location of the Red Sea Crossing. There is much that awaits us and we are glad you are here. Stay curious and we will see you soon!
