Knock, Knock…It’s Spiderman!

Who doesn’t love a good knock, knock joke? What’s your favorite? How about this one:

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Opportunity!

Ok, so it’s not exactly a joke. But it’s better…it’s TRUTH! Sunday we began our theme for the month of September: Opportunity Knocks, Responsibility Opens the Door.  This month is all about RESPONSIBILITY.  And we began, well…in the beginning. The beginning of it all, our Genesis.  We peeked into creation to explore RESPONSIBILITY with our favorite newlyweds, Adam and Eve.

Bottom Line: Show you can be trusted by taking care of what God has made.

Bible Verse: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. Luke 16:10

Before we brought Adam and Eve on stage, we began with a little skit about responsibility. Whitney acted as my trusted assistant who was asked to take care of my dear plant Greenie while I was away.  (Side note: Greenie does not belong to me in real life. I personally have no “Greenies”. I am a terrible, terrible gardner. I would have single-handedly destroyed all beauty in the Garden of Eden. Luckily, gardening is one of my amazing neighbor’s many talents, and she allowed me to borrow her beautiful fern for our lesson. My own fern will make an appearance later. Be prepared to LOL.)

Greenie

So Whitney was given the RESPONSIBILITY of caring for something small – my fern. And she failed miserably…because we all do (and because it was scripted). See that coke on the table? That was dear Whitney’s way to water our beautiful Greenie. And then she decided they would go take a little nap together in a nice, quiet, DARK place.

As she walked out with Greenie, the kids all looked at me with big eyes, shaking their heads, muttering “That is NOT a good idea.”  I even heard, “That plant is going down.” Sometimes they make it so hard not to laugh out loud.  They are incredibly entertaining.

Then it was time to take it to the Bible. We looked into Genesis and read together about the creation of the world and all its untouched splendor. God made it beautiful, and He saw that it was good. And then, he created man to care for it all. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our likeness. Let them rule over the fish in the waters the the birds of the air. Let them rule over the livestock and over the whole earth.'” Genesis 1:26. Let’s not miss the gravity of this. God made this amazing thing and saw it was good…and then He gave it to man. I’m sorry, what? I had the same thought the kids shared, “That is NOT a good idea.” Yet God gave it all. He trusted us with his creation. Me?  I stand amazed at this trust…a wake up call to RESPONSIBILITY.

“The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden. He put him there to work the ground and to take care of it.” Genesis 2:15. God created this precious little man right here to take care of His masterpiece. Behold, our Adam:

I love this kid. He truly IS so very responsible. He tended our garden well and named our animals, as God instructed him. He fulfilled his tasks beautifully. But of course, no one man can do it alone. Even dear, hard-working, responsible Adam. And so, God created a helper who was perfect for Adam. It doesn’t get much more perfect than this:

Seriously, how cute is our little Eve? God gave Adam and Eve these small jobs and when they showed they could be trusted with little, he gave them much. In the NIrV, Genesis 1:28-29 says “God blessed them. He said to them, ‘Have children and increase your numbers. Fill the earth and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the air. Rule over every living creature that moves on the ground. I am giving you every plant on the face of the whole earth that bears its own seeds, I am giving you every tree that has fruit with seeds in it…’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

And that IS exactly what happened! He gave and He gave and He gives!  It hits me heavy how often I overlook His gifts. These small gifts that are abundant in my life, that are not actually small at all. And I wonder if I am showing God that I am responsible with this majesty He entrusts to me. Am I?

Are you?

Are we teaching our children this responsibility that first begins with thankfulness? Be thankful, children. Recognize this world as your gift. And be RESPONSIBLE with all God has so graciously given.

Our lesson concluded with Whitney returning from her nap with Greenie and, alas! What happens when RESPONSIBILITY is lacking:

Brownie

Greenie became Brownie. (Enter my own dear fern. I know, I know. Be more responsible, right? Water the plant. Tend the garden. Note taken.) The kids found this hilarious! Whitney realized the error of her ways. She should have been more RESPONSIBLE. She should have shown that she could be trusted with little so she could eventually be trusted with more. With the good stuff! I don’t know about you, but I want God to trust me with MORE. I do. I crave His praise and His trust in me to do His will.

I can’t help it…I am a mom of two little boys (and one sweet, sweet girl to whom this particular discussion does not apply), so forgive me here…but every time I hear the word RESPONSIBILITY, I think of Spiderman. Perhaps because there is often a Spiderman running loose in my house. Or jumping into the pool next door. My life:

“With great power comes great responsibility.” I know this was spoken long before the Spiderman movies, but in my head I hear it in Peter Parker’s voiceover. There is great truth to this statement. (Would anyone like to see a little more responsibility from those in great power in our country at this moment? Sigh.) But there is also truth to this: With great responsibility comes great power.

And so, may I suggest this: Let us be greatly responsible. Let us accept the power God has given us with arms thrown wide. And then, let’s use it for good. For the GOOD of God’s beautiful creation. And just maybe, hopefully, we’ll hear a familiar whisper from the heavens: “It is good.”

Summer