John Piper’s latest sermon suggests “eight ways to help your children love those who are different from them.” Piper is primarily thinking here of racial harmony and disability differences, but this would apply to an even wider range of differences.
Go read or listen to or watch the sermon for the unpacking of each point, but here’s the outline:
- Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in creating them with the body that they have.
- Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in making other people with the body that they have.
- Help the children believe that they and all other children and adults are made in God’s image.
- Teach the children that God tells us to do to others as we would like others to do to us.
- Teach the children and model for them that their own sin is uglier than anybody they think is physically unattractive.
- Teach the children that God loves them in spite of the ugliness of their sin and that he proved this by sending his Son to die for our sins and give forgiveness to all who would trust him.
- Teach the children that because Jesus died for them and rose again, he becomes for them an all-satisfying Friend and Treasure.
- Teach the children to love others who are different from them, not in order to be accepted by God, but because they already are accepted by God because of Jesus.
