How to Teach 5 Attributes of God to Your Grandchildren With Candy
One of our favorite places in Galveston is La King’s Confectionery. The left side of La King’s hosts an old-fashioned ice cream parlor while the right side stocks every kind of candy you can think of. It’s a sensory overload for the grandkids.
It’s also a great way to teach the attributes of God.
Most of us have our standby candy choices: Snickers, Cherry Lifesavers, Skittles.
What’s your favorite?
But have you ever ventured out of your comfort zone to try something different?
Psalm 34:8 reads, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
Most kids have heard about God’s love and His goodness. Just like Cherry Life savers, God’s love and His goodness are reliable. Familiar favorites. Safe.
But what about God’s other flavors?
His holiness.
His justice.
His perseverance.
His sense of adventure or even His sense of humor.
Holiness: Mint
When I think of holiness, I think of mint. Peppermint. Spearmint. Junior mints. Doesn’t matter. That cool, frosty flavor says holiness to me.
But why is God’s holiness important? Why sample it?
Because God’s holiness affects our holiness. Choices matter. Lifestyles matter.
We represent God to our grandchildren and God is perfect. Perfect love, perfect goodness, perfect righteousness. Holiness.
But I can hear you, I’m not God.
Exactly. That’s why He’s worthy of our obedience and our worship and we’re not.
No one compares to Him. But we are called to be like Him.
Holiness, our holiness, means to be set apart. We don’t brush our teeth and use the same toothbrush to clean mud off our sneakers. Our toothbrushes are set apart for cleaning our teeth and gums, and we don’t use it for anything else.
Likewise, we as believers are set apart for God.
We are to be loyal to Him. Whatever conflicts with His perfect love, goodness, and righteousness is out for us as well. The Holy Spirit helps because He activates Jesus’s love, goodness, and righteousness in us so that others see His love through us.
Holiness matters. Invite your grandchild to taste and see.
Justice: Cinnamon
My grandmother kept a candy dish full of hard candy: peppermint, butterscotch, and cinnamon. I opted for butterscotch. My kids? They love it hot. Red Hots. Hot Tamales.
When I think of God’s justice, I think of cinnamon. I chose cinnamon here because when one walks outside of God’s will, it can get spicy.
On a cosmic level, God’s goodness will prevail.
1 John 3:8 reads, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
On a personal level, even with God’s forgiveness, all sin has consequences.
What consequences have our grandchildren seen their friends experience?
Enjoy cinnamon’s fiery flavor and take comfort that evil will be held accountable.
But don’t miss the warning.
Taste and see. God is just.
Perseverance: Gum
Have you ever stepped in gum?
Or worse, gotten it in your hair?
Juicy Fruit. Double Mint. Dubble Bubble. Gum speaks to me of God’s perseverance. Once on, gum is hard to get off. Thankfully, God’s sticky too, and He’s stuck on us.
Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Not even gum on the bottom of your shoe rivals God’s perseverance. He’s after all of us, and God’s sticking like gum. Taste and see.
Humor: Nuts
Snickers. Almond Joy. Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.
Does God have a sense of humor? Yes, He does. When I think of God’s funny side, I think of nuts. Just look at creation and crazy creatures like the platypus or the pangolin. Or check out Scripture for Balaam and his talking donkey in Numbers 22.
Don’t miss God’s funny side because He’s got one. Laughter heals so look for the opportunities God gives to laugh. Taste and see.
Adventure: Dark Chocolate
While the Hershey bar is the go-to for many chocolate lovers, you get a whole new flavor dimension when you go dark.
Dark chocolate, I mean.
To me, dark chocolate speaks of adventure. Of harder, difficult, challenging paths where He requires more of you, but delivers more too.
Like Elijah’s dark chocolate adventure in 1 Kings 19:11-12, “The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.’”
New flavors. New depths. Times of training that grow your faith.
Let’s encourage our grandchildren to taste and see all of God’s flavors.
Let’s pray: Father God, thank You that You reveal more of Yourself as we grow in relationship with You. Help us to encourage each grandchild to taste and see that You are good. Every flavor. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Holiness. Justice. Perseverance. A sense of humor. Adventure. What’s your favorite flavor and what are you willing to try?
Invite your grandchild to taste, to see, and to know God beyond His love and His goodness.
Resources:
Scripture That Helps Grandparents
Don’t forget to check out The Kingswell Kid Detective series. Book 1, The Mystery of the Missing Falls, is available now for readers ages 8-12. Kid-sized mysteries. God-sized truths.
Next week’s post: God as a Good Giver.
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