Children's Story: Seals

Seals

Props: 1 or 2 reproductions of government seals, or seals on official documents.

This morning we're going to talk about seals. No, not the kind of seals that you find in the waters around here.

What I'm talking about are seals like these. [Show reproductions of government seals.]

What are these kinds of seals used for?
On government documents
On official correspondence

Can you think of some reasons why governments place these seals on important documents?
To identify the documents as being from the government (identification)
So the recipients can have confidence in the source of the document (affirmation)
To show that the bearer of the seal speaks for the government (authority)
To show that the document or item bearing the seal belongs to the gov't. (ownership)

In the part of the world we live in, we don't really give too much thought to seals. Today our signatures are often sufficient for conducting business. But in years past, seals were much more important in everyday life. Even today though, in some other parts of the world, seals are much more important.

For example, in the country where I was born, Japan, instead of signatures, seals are still used to identify, affirm, and to claim authority and ownership in transacting business.

Did you know that the Bible talks about seals too? In the last book of the Bible, called Revelation, we learn that God's people can be identified as His because they have God's seal on them.

Is God's seal something like the seal of the State of Alaska, or the seal of the City of Petersburg? Is it something that is stamped onto us? It is, but not in the way that you might expect.

The book of Ephesians tells us that the seal of God that identifies people as His is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit lives in a person's heart, that person is then identified as belonging to God.

What's even more interesting is that people who love Jesus become seals themselves. We read in John 3:33 that "Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true." What this is saying is that anyone who learns to trust in Jesus become seals that identify and affirm that what Jesus says is true.
How does this happen?

It happens like this. When a person learns to love Jesus, she wants to spend more and more time with Jesus. When she spends more time, she becomes more like Jesus. Becoming more like Jesus means becoming more loving, patient, and kind with one another, even people that might annoy you at times -- even your sister or brother.

When a person begins to show that kind of love, other people around them begin to notice. They see that what Jesus said about loving one another really can be true.

So you see, when you learn to love and trust Jesus, you become seals that help show the world that Jesus' words are really true. You become seals that show to the world that you've made Jesus' words the rule (or authority) for your life, that you've made Jesus a part of your life, and that you identify yourself with Jesus kingdom.