shaping lives

There were 27 children at the Scripture Union Group today.

Not that I counted them as such. We had a game which involved them coming up with a word beginning with the succeeding letters of the alphabet (My best friend is Annoying .. Beautiful .. Clever .. Dog .. etc), and by the time we'd got through them all we were back at the letter A again.

My best friend is .. Abigail, said the last girl in the queue. I wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth about herself, or remembering the name from the Bible.

27 is a lot of children to be herded together at lunch-time! The numbers increase from week to week - not because I do a brilliant job of giving the thing a plug, but simply because they start to bring their friends.

Which is pretty much how evangelism's meant to work. One shall tell another, as the song rather quaintly puts it.

They're a lively bunch and although the time is pretty short, we cover a good bit of ground. Behavioural problems abound, of course, so it's really a help that the Scriptures are always so down-to-earth and practical.

We were on today about owning up and saying sorry; and making amends; and warning our friends when they're planning on doing something wrong. And just about all of that was immediately applicable there and then.

No need for merely theoretical application: it was Scripture being applied to the here and now.

A lot of pastoral ministry's basically that. Bringing the truths of the Word of God to bear upon the lives and situations of God's people in their varied states and stages.

And much of my time every day is spent in this sort of thing. On a one to one basis explaining and applying what the Scriptures have to teach.

Starting when they're young is always for the best! And teaching these young children not just what the Scriptures say, but also how they can apply it to themselves is a vital part of what I'm seeking to do.

It's the business of shaping lives for the glory of God. Hammering out, with the Word of God, the contours of the grace of Jesus Christ in all their lives.

A privilege indeed.