I can’t resist sharing a follow-up to the weekend’s Family Faith and Fun idea that I posted on Saturday. (See January 15 post- For God So Loved the (Messy) World…). Of all the family faith activities I’ve tried over the years (100s of them at the least), this crazy twist on good old fashioned fun might be one of my all time favorites. In the end, the visual we gained of Christ’s amazing love was powerful. It is a picture, I believe, that will stick in the hearts and minds of my children for years to come. Each time my apple-bobbers hear the oft-quoted words of John 3:16, I predict that a muddy-toothed grin will dance in their minds, and I pray that along with the silly memory will come a deep sense of awe for our undeserved and Divine rescue.
Here’s a glimpse of how God’s Word came to life in the tiny confines of our basement bathroom on Sunday morning. Attempting to create an easy-to-clean-up mess (it wasn’t!), I put our huge orange bucket right in the middle of the bathtub and filled it to the brim with the shower head. After a few rounds of freeze dance and musical chairs to our favorite praise and worship tunes (you gotta get the kids in a fun and goofy mood if you’re going to suggest something as nutty as bathtub-bobbing), we crammed into the bathroom for a round of clean old fashioned fun. The kids, still in their pajamas, laughed at one another as each one took a turn securing a bright red apple from the bucket.
At that point, we read the Old Testament verses where God refers to His people as “the apple of His eye.” We talked about how that unusual phrase was a term of endearment. God sees us as special and treasured. Then, we discussed how God must have felt when “the apples of His eye” chose to turn their backs on Him. Sadly, His “apples” were bobbing hopelessly in a sea of sin. He needed a plan to reach down and pull us out of our lost and condemned lives.
“That’s why He sent Jesus!” Hannah declared. “Jesus had to bob for the apple of God’s eye,” she giggled, proud of herself for catching the metaphor in our silly bathtub activity.
“You’re right,” I declared. “John 3:16 reminds us that God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to save us.” The kids munched happily on their apples.
“So,” I asked as I pointed to the shiny red apples that remained in our bucket of clean water. “Do you think that our little apple bobbing activity is an accurate picture of Jesus’ love?” The kids nodded their heads and drew a few more parallels to the salvation story:
-The apples can’t get out of the bucket without help and we can’t get out of sin without help. -Jesus reached into our world to rescue us, just like we reached into the bucket to retrieve the apples. -Jesus was happy to “get us,” just like we were happy to get the apples.
I applauded their insights, but then proposed, “I don’t think that our apple bobbing is the most accurate picture of Christ’s love.” I pulled out my bag of potting soil and began dumping it into the bucket. Clods of brown mud began to glop together and float on top of the water. The only evidence of the remaining apples was an occasional splotch of red amongst the muck. “I think THIS is a more accurate picture of Jesus’ love for us.”
On cue, Maggie cried, “YUCKY! OOEY!”
I continued, “Jesus stepped into our world that was filled with sin and He rescued us from the muck of our pointless lives. It wasn’t an easy task, but He did it anyway. That’s the kind of love that God has for us.”
The kids gasped, groaned and complained. They watched as the once clear water turned a repulsive shade of murky brown.
“I wanted to bob for another apple,” Lizzy said with a moan.
“Well, you sure may,” I said. I gazed around the room at my five wide-eyed children. “Would anyone like to bob for these apples?” I pointed to the crimson pok-a-dots buried beneath the cocoa colored lumps. Instinctively, the kids stepped back from the tub.
Then Lizzy said quietly, “Well, I guess I could try.”
My stomach dropped. I hadn’t exactly expected a volunteer. “Are you sure?” I offered her an easy out. “I’ve got more clean apples upstairs if you want another one.”
“I’ll try,” Lizzy agreed.
Her big brother cheered and moved to the tub’s edge for a front row seat. Josh mumbled the word gross over and over again like a tribal chant.
And dear soft-hearted Hannah tried to talk her crazy sister out of the audacious idea.”Don’t do it, Lizzy,” she pleaded. “You don’t have to. Mom said she has more apples upstairs.”
Lizzy’s hair dangled in the mud. “Lizzy,” Hannah repeated.
“You don’t have to do it. Lizzy….”
As I listened to my seven year old’s pleas, I envisioned the angels in Paradise watching in horror as Heaven’s Darling slipped from the womb of a teenage girl and landed plop in the middle of a manure-filled stable. Don’t do it, Jesus! You don’t have to. You’re the Creator of the world. You can make some new apples for your Father’s eye. You can just wipe those old ones out and start again. You can design a new batch of humans; create the whole garden scene again and keep Eve out of the picture! Jesus! Lord! Stop…
Lizzy rose from the water with dirt in her teeth, mud in her hair,and a wry smile on her face. I quietly pulled out my Bible and read Romans 5:8. “While we were sinners Christ died for us.”
“Wow!” was Joshua’s timely reply.
That pretty much covers it, I thought as I handed my mud-bobber a towel. Wow! Messy love. Heaven’s heart. Hallelujah!
The Overflow:
Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.-Romans 5: 6-8, The Message
You pour your creative gifts into songs, I just put mine into mudpuddles in my bathtub 🙂 And as for the energy.. hmmm.. way too much coffee may be the key to that one!
All I can say is you have an amazing gift for creativity to come up with these ideas to make the word of God so real to your children….and a whole lot of energy!!
“You’re right,” I declared. “John 3:16 reminds us that God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to save us.” The kids munched happily on their apples. 
My stomach dropped. I hadn’t exactly expected a volunteer. “Are you sure?” I offered her an easy out. “I’ve got more clean apples upstairs if you want another one.”
“You don’t have to do it. Lizzy….”
The Overflow: 
Deborah,
You pour your creative gifts into songs, I just put mine into mudpuddles in my bathtub 🙂 And as for the energy.. hmmm.. way too much coffee may be the key to that one!
Hope your family is well.
Alicia
All I can say is you have an amazing gift for creativity to come up with these ideas to make the word of God so real to your children….and a whole lot of energy!!