My oldest son could hardly wait to start school.

The day before kindergarten, he got stung by a bee.

Right between the eyes.

His face swelled, small features disappearing into puffy flesh.

“Maybe you should stay home tomorrow,” I told him. No way was I going to send him into the cool, cruel world looking like he did.

No way.

The next morning, I stood in the back of the classroom. With the other mothers I watched the teacher introduce the children to the world of education.

In the middle of

• the rhymes and songs
• that sneak in subtle facts like
• you are special
• and you’d better get along,

one little girl raised her hand.

Then, she pointed to my son.

“I don’t want to sit by him,” she announced, “He’s ugly.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to shove my way to the middle of the little welcome circle or what ever it was, snatch my kid and run home.

“I’m not,” my son said loudly before I had a chance to move, “And you shouldn’t talk like that. Its not nice.”

Now, that was impressive.

I should have grinned from ear to ear. My son was obviously still operating on the Sunday school mantra that God is good. We are his children and heaven is a  wonderful place.

But, I knew what lay outside his warm little cocoon of snack time and praise songs.

A jungle of lies.

• Evil is beautiful
• Self gratification is good
• God can be whatever you want him to be.

It doesn’t take long before they distort our view of reality.

Eventually, we forget the face of truth.

I sighed.

It was just one morning. One class. One bee sting.

What did I really want for my son?

More than anything else?

Even now, twenty years later?

I want him to see God’s love exploding across creation with

• every thunderstorm
• every snowflake
• every breath he takes.

Want to renew your passion for God’s truth?

Want to reset your spiritual bearings in a crazy world?

Go to youtube and watch a radical music video by The Arrows. It’s called –  The Words of Satan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYDCMg4d7ks

You’ll be so glad you did!