Posted by
grad_1986 on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 3:56:01 PM
Or at least that's according to a principal at a Taunton Mass elementary school who sent a child home for drawing a stick figure of Jesus on the Cross. The boy was asked to draw a picture of what reminded him of the Christmas holiday. The boy has been order to under a full psychological evaluation as the picture which had X's for Jesus' eyes to indicate that he had died. The picture was labeled "disturbing" by the boys teacher and inappropriate.
I guess the teacher was expecting a picture of Santa, Rudolf or even Frosty-the-Snowman but instead had to endure a picture with religious overtones. What! Christmas is a religious holiday too?? The boy obviously sees more in Christmas than just a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. He see's past the quaint view of shepherds and wise-men and to WHY Jesus came at all and that was to die a horrible death on a cross for all of mankind. Offensive? Yes to those who don't want to be saved. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God". The boy sees that without Easter, you have no Christmas. Without Easter, Christmas is just another poor child being shunned by an uncaring world ... yadayadayada.."
I am appalled by how this boy is being treated. He is ridiculed for his faith and treated like there is something wrong with him. Yet I believe that God speaks through little children such as him. Jesus was ordered in the temple to to have the little children who were following him singing praises to him to "be quiet", but Jesus showed them that their child-like faith was based in scripture. "Have you never read 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise' "
This boy has faith beyond his years and beyond many adults. He is why Jesus also order the worst of punishments for those who would hurt the faith of one such as this when he says "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better if a millstone were wrapped around his neck and he was cast into the midst of the sea." Not that Jesus was telling his disciples to go around throwing people into the sea (as he says "would be better") but was saying their standing before God will not go well and that being thrown into the sea " was like saying "better not being born at all".
It reminds me of the "Charlie Brown Christmas" cartoon we watch every year. Linus gives the MOST impacting sermon in the fewest words possible by quoting Luke and the story of the shepherds. His monologue to this day still gives me a lump in my throat as he delivers the "good news for all people" and reminds Charlie Brown what Christmas is really all about. But sad to say, today Linus would be chastised for quoting scripture to his fellow students in a public setting paid for my public tax dollars. He too may be sent for psychological evaluation for believing in "myths" and his parents may be called into question for their way of raising him and filling his young impressionable mind with ridiculous ideas of a gracious God who loves all mankind so much he is willing to die for them.