“Living Outside the Box”

Romans 12 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

In today’s children’s message, we used Play-Doh to illustrate this idea. Play-Doh doesn’t shape itself into a ball, a dinosaur, or anything else. It requires an outside force—someone’s hands—to mold and shape it.

In many ways, we are the same. The question isn’t whether we will be shaped, but rather: What will shape us?

We can allow ourselves to be shaped by the violence, vanity, selfishness, and pride we so often see in the world. Or we can place ourselves in the hands of God and allow our lives to be shaped by the peaceful and moral teachings of Jesus Christ.

But being shaped by God does not mean that we are all meant to come out of the same mold. God created each of us differently and gave each of us different gifts, talents, personalities, and abilities. Romans 12 reminds us of this as well, teaching that we have different gifts according to the grace God has given us.

Those differences have a purpose. God gives us unique talents so that we can use them for good—to serve one another, strengthen our communities, and help shape the world around us to better reflect God’s love and His image.

As parents, this carries an even greater responsibility. Our children are constantly being influenced by the world around them. It is our responsibility not only to help shape their hearts through Christian teaching, but also to recognize the unique gifts God has placed within each of them and help those gifts grow.

We should teach them peace instead of anger, humility instead of pride, generosity instead of selfishness, and a willingness to help others rather than simply looking after themselves.

Just as our hands can take the same Play-Doh and create many different and wonderful things, God can shape each of us differently while still shaping us toward the same purpose.

May we allow God to mold us, may we help our children discover the gifts He has given them, and may we use those gifts together to shape our families, our communities, and our world to better reflect the love, peace, humility, and compassion of Jesus Christ.