Theology and personality

You've probably already worked out if you've been reading this blog for long enough, or directly know my family, that my children all have different personalities. This a real delight and one of the aspects of having a family that I am enjoying most, as I see their personalities grow and I notice the differences between them.

This week, as we've been doing our Easter Bible readings together, Dave and I have noticed something else. Their personalities are already having an influence on the way they receive the message of the gospel.

As I've mentioned before, Jacob (as first born) is more intense and has a tendency to worry about things. He feels a lot of responsibility for things he's not necessarily responsible for. He also tends to worry about his sin and feels impatient that God hasn't yet uprooted all sin from his heart. Standard prayer: "Dear Father God, I love you, please help me to be good today and tomorrow and the next day".

Rebecca on the other hand, has always been easy going, happy and sunny. She doesn't tend to push the boundaries much and when she does, it doesn't seem to bother her all that much when she gets in trouble! Standard prayer: "Dear Father God, thank you for a beoootiful day, and thank you for GOOD FUN!".

This week, when we started learning our memory verse (the second half of Rom 5:8), she was indignant. "But I'm not a sinner!". Dave and I (and Jacob!) explained (again) that we all were (at which point she demanded, somewhat incredulously, that Dave and I list our sins; once we had started it was hard to stop!).

Ask Jacob why Jesus died and he'll say something about our sin and God's forgiveness. Ask Rebecca why Jesus died and she'll say, "Because he LOVES me... and God made him ALIVE again!".

Please pray for Jacob, that he'll keep growing in his understanding that God loves him (even though he sins), and for Rebecca, that she'll keep growing in her understanding of her sin (and of God's love for her). And please pray for Elsie too, though I'm not sure yet what kind of slant to suggest on your prayers for her!