Is the Devil Real or Make Believe?
Is the devil real or make believe? What do your kids think? It’s too scary and you never talk to them about it? Well, the world is talking to them so you better get with the program! According to research less than half the kids in the USA believe Satan is real. They believe he is just a symbol of evil. It’s time for some TABLE TALK!
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We see him in cartoons on TV and in books all the time. Mostly he’s this funny little red creature with horns, a tail and a pitchfork. He makes us laugh. He can’t be real, can he?
Jesus thought he was very real. Jesus had conversations with him and rebuked him. He commanded the devil to leave little children and adults who were being tormented by him. Jesus didn’t think he was very funny at all! In fact, did you know that hell was created just for the devil and his little demon buddies? It was never created for people. And when Jesus comes back again, he’s going to kick the devil into hell for all eternity so he can never hurt or torment anyone ever again.
The Bible says that Satan (another name for the devil) comes as an angel of light. In other words he can morph himself to look good, and kind, and friendly and very desirable in many ways. But he’s a deceiver, and this is one of the ways he tricks human beings into thinking he’s harmless and fun. He shows up in a way that we can’t recognize who he really is. But it’s a trick. And when we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, and we learn to listen to his voice, the Holy Spirit can help us recognize the devil and help us to avoid something bad happening.
We’re told the devil is a “thief” who comes to people to steal from them, kill them, and destroy them. That includes you and me. He’s one very bad dude! The reason he looks so funny in cartoons is he doesn’t want us to know how bad he really is. So he shows up looking funny and cute. But we’re not ignorant of his plans! The Holy Spirit shows us where to be careful. We are supposed to “resist” him and flee, or run away, from him as fast as we can.
He’s not equally powerful with God. God is so much bigger and so much more powerful there’s no comparison at all! That’s another lie he wants us to believe. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross when he died for our sins. We never have to be afraid of the devil. He is God’s enemy and he is our enemy—not a cute cartoon.
When people are not Christians, many times the devil is blinding them from seeing how wonderful Jesus really is. So we have to pray for God to remove the blinders so people are free to make their own decisions about Jesus.
Are there any times you think the devil has tricked you? Do you have any friends or relatives who don’t know Jesus as their savior that you should pray for so the blinders are removed from their eyes?
To learn more about Creating a Biblical Worldview in our Children see: https://kidsinministry.org/resources/more-stuff/creating-a-biblical-worldview-in-our-children-sscm-9/