Little Hearts

Little eyes of blue and locks of gold
Who would ever know that her home was cold?
Her daddy's gone, and mommy just cries
What is the truth when you've grown up with lies?

Daddy, Daddy, come home tonight
What do you see in that other lady?
Mommy, Mommy, hold me tight
Will your love be yes, no, or maybe?
Will somebody love me, 'cause I can't find it here
I'm surrounded by this uncommon fear

Who's gonna love little hearts?
Who's gonna love the little hearts?

A little boy is bruised, both his head and his heart
Where will it end? Why did it ever start?
Alone in a corner, uncovered and cold
No excuse for abuse of the body and soul

Daddy, Daddy, why do you fight?
And why do you drink away your life?
Mommy, Mommy, why do you cry
for your battered son when you're a battered wife?
Will somebody hold me, 'cause I won't be held here
except by this uncommon fear

Who's gonna love little hearts?
'Cause little hearts have great big hurts
Who's gonna love little hearts?
Who's gonna love the little hearts?

Sixteen years old, a child carries her own
The boy she loves has left her all alone
She's made her choice, but the baby she'll lose
Never has a voice, nor a chance to choose

Daddy, Daddy, why do you run?
Do you understand the damage you've done?
Mommy, Mommy, somebody cares
and there's a good home for me out there
Somebody will love me, someone has room
Should a mother's womb welcome her baby's doom?

Who's gonna love little hearts?
'Cause little hearts have great big hurts.
Who's gonna love little hearts?
Who's gonna love the little hearts?

Jesus loves little hearts.
Jesus died for little hearts.
Shouldn't you and I love little hearts?


[©1989 Jimmy Davis]

Making The Bible Real To Our Kids

A challenge to parents from the The Shepherd Press Blog:

Moses wants the Israelites to take the word of God to heart....He urges them to be dominated by God’s word. He warns them against treating these words as idle, empty words. The words of God are life to the people of God. Parents, this is where it starts. Is the word of God your life? Before you can expect your children to respond to God, you must lead the way by treasuring the words of God as your very life. God’s word is life (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Parenting without this dependence upon the Word will leave you exhausted and your children exasperated. In the next few posts we will look at the contrast between idle words and words of life in parenting. If you are going to effectively shepherd your children, God’s Word must be life to you.

Read the whole post here. It's worth it...and it looks like this is the start of a series.

The Worldview of WALL-E

I took my family to see WALL-E last night. Great movie! Rather than try to wax eloquent on the depth of meaning in this fun little film, I thought I'd provide some links to the thoughts of others.

WALL-E and Sex (a unique take on the film's message)

WALL-E's Worldview (World Magazine)

The Little Robot That Could (Christianity Today)

WALL-E, Liberalism, and the Human Heart

Enjoy the movie...enjoy these articles and interviews!

Facebook and the Image of God

Ever wonder about the appeal of Facebook and other web-based social networks? Why would millions of people all over the world want to plaster their names and faces, their likes and dislikes, and their current physical, emotional, or spiritual status all over the worldwide web? I confess I am one of them. I started my own Facebook "profile" and began collecting "friends" several years ago when I realized it was the best way to keep up with the college students to whom I was pastor. But in recent months, I've begun to reconnect with people that I haven't seen or talked to in twenty years. Friends from high school and college, folks in their forties like me, have begun to discover Facebook as a way to get in touch with old friends and stay in touch with current ones.

There are plenty of pundits who are wary of this trend, claiming that this is another symptom of the narcissism this generation has apparently contracted. I can't disagree entirely with this theory, but I'd like to suggest that the Facebook phenomenon may have as much to do with human design as it does with human depravity.

There's at least one lesson we can learn from the Facebook craze: We all long to know and be known by others. Yes, at their worst these social network sites can be a mild (sometimes not so mild) form of exhibitionism, but when you get right down to it people just want to be known. I want the people in my world to know me, so I post pictures of my family because they are part of me. I list the books I've read because they have shaped me. I share my favorite quotes because they tell others what I value and believe. I update my status so that others know where I am...literally and figuratively. I want to be known. And I'm not alone.

It is also true that at their worst social network sites can encourage and enable virtual voyeurism. Some people spend too much time following the lives of other people. But let's face it, all of us are fascinated with people aren't we? Ever done some "people-watching" while you're waiting for a plane? And why do we tend to collect so many "friends," and what about that good feeling you get when someone invites you to be their Facebook friend? I want to know others, and so do you.

Certainly my desire to know and be known by others can become obsessive and get out of proportion, but I'm curious to know why the desire is there at all.

I believe it's because I was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God wants to know and be known by others. Self-revealing and other-relating are part of the nature of who God is. In his helpful little book concerning the street-level impact of the doctrine of the Trinity, Experiencing the Trinity, Darrell W. Johnson writes:

'At the center of the universe is a relationship.' That is the most fundamental truth I know. At the center of the universe is a community. It is out of that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed. And it is for that relationship that you and I were created and redeeemed! And it turns out that there is a three-fold-ness to that relationship. It turns out that the community is a Trinity. The center of reality is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...the doctrine of the the Trinity is not the result of philosophical speculation carried out in ivory towers, cut off from real life. It is the result of ordinary believers trying to make sense of the facts of God's self-revelation--and trying to live in the light of those facts (pp. 37, 39).

Johnson goes on to talk about one of the "everyday consequences" of the doctrine of the Trinity:

First, we know why when relationships go sour, all of life goes sour. We were created in the image and likeness of God...There are many dimensions of God's character we were created to reflect. But chief among them is this 'us-ness' of God. God does not exist alone; and neither do we who are created in God's image. Thus God says of Adam in the garden, 'it is not good for the man to be alone' (Genesis 2:18). Why? Because Adam will be lonely, yes. But more importantly because 'Adam alone' is not Adam in the image of God. God is not a solitary God. Adam does not reflect who God is until Adam shares life with Eve...It is because we are created in the image of the Trinity that loneliness is so crushing, that broken relationships are so debilitating, that death is so painful. Lack of loss of relationship violates our essential nature, created to reflect the relational essence of God (pp. 52-53).

Our longing to know others and be known by them is part of our human design that has been twisted by our human depravity. Our involvement in the Facebook community is a reflection of our design for community, but when Facebook becomes a source of knowing and being known that takes precedence over community with the Trinity and unity with His Church (John 17) , then our Facebook-ing is more a reflection of our depravity.

One last thought: God has His own Facebook profile. If you want, you can go there and see the ways in which God has made Himself known to us and through which we are able to know Him as our friend: through Creation (Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:19-20), through the Bible (Psalm 19:7-11, 2 Peter 1:16-21), and most clearly and intimately through Jesus Christ's person (Hebrews 1:1-3, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6) and people (John 17:20-23, 1 John 4:11-12).

We desire to know and be known because He first desired to know and be known.

What We Want for Our Teenagers

Abraham Piper sums up our culture's low expectations for adolescents in 22 words:

Understanding teenage rebellion only as sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll implies that the goal is celibacy, sobriety, and employment. It’s not.

It’s Jesus.

I was just talking with some dads of teenagers about this at breakfast this morning. Our culture does have “low expectations” for teenagers, but then so do our churches. Too often the highest aim of our churches is “getting kids involved in church and/or service activities” and “getting them saved” rather than showing them what it means to treasure Jesus more than doing good things and going to heaven.

[HT: 22 Words Blog]

Gospel-Saturated Parenting

John Piper knocks one out of the park by casting vision for a gospel-driven generation in a sermon entitled "Let No One Despise You For Your Youth". He closed with this final word to parents:

Parents, successful parenting is more than compliant kids. It is gospel-saturated living and teaching. Show your children how Christ, crucified for our sins, and Christ, raised for our justification, and Christ, showing the Father’s love, and Christ, guaranteeing the Spirit’s daily help—show them how this gospel is not just something that begins the Christian life but empowers it and shapes and sustains it. Pray and love and teach your children until Christbreaks in on their hearts and becomes their Treasure.

May God give us a vision for the next generation that glorifies the gospel of Christ, and leads thousands of young people to the cross where they find forgiveness of sins, and broken-hearted humility, and Christ-exalting courage to rebel against low expectations and “do hard things.”

[HT: Desiring God]

Getting Teens to "Do Hard Things"

I can't wait to read a new book that releases this week. Do Hard Things is written by teenagers for teenagers. Authors/brothers, Brett and Alex Harris comment on the book in the first of a five-part interview on The Point:

"We’re calling our peers to rethink the teen years and rebel against the low expectations society has for young people. The book is really the outgrowth of our conviction that God is doing something huge in our generation. We believe there is so much for to the teen years and to life, and it starts with understanding the way God has created us to grow and thrive: by doing hard things."

[HT: The Point blog]

Igniting Spiritual Formation in the Next Generation

I've just published a new article called Holy Arson in BreakPoint Worldview Magazine. I hope you'll read it and leave your feedback here on the blog.

You really should subscribe to Breakpoint Worldview for thought provoking articles in your inbox every month!

The Power of Family Meals

Mark Early, president of PFM, offers a great reminder about the importance of family meals here. There are some links to other articles on this topic at the bottom of Early's message.