WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REFLECT CHRIST?
To reflect Christ in our daily lives means we must walk in the spirit and exhibit love while always remembering who we represent. We are no longer our own but bought with a price as it states in 1 Corinthians 7:23: Ye are bought with a price; be not ye servants of men.
Learning that we reflect Christ daily is a hard lesson to learn for adults much less children. Daily we are faced with stress, trials, distraction, and the flesh. It is all too easy to forget we are ambassadors for Christ in this world when someone takes our toy, breaks our iPod, or disappoints us. Consider this verse from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing:
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
METHODS OF TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT REFLECTING CHRIST
The Man in Uniform Activity
Show your child pictures of men and women in uniforms. For example, show your child a picture of a policeman and ask him who this person is and what this person represents. Ask your child to give you characteristics he expects from this person. Now ask him why he has these expectations. Most likely your child will view this person based on the uniform and the fact this uniform represents a concept beyond the person’s individual personality. Ask your child what he would think if this person acted the exact opposite of his expectations. For example, what if the police officer committed criminal acts? What if a doctor did not treat a patient but harmed a patient? What if a chef fixed the plumbing in the kitchen and did not prepare the food?
The purpose of this lesson is to bring the understanding that when one puts on a uniform one represents ideals which must be upheld or risks making all of those in that uniform look bad.
In Part 2, we will have more activities to enhance the lesson of reflecting Christ.