帮助孩子以上帝为避难所Helping Your Children Run to God astheir Refuge
作者: Jill Nelson 译者/校对者: 非比/雅斤
我的孙子现在五岁了，他越来越意识到那些可怕和危险的事情。有些是小的恐惧——碎片、巨大的响声和游戏场上新来的孩子。但是另一些恐惧更加重大，比如对死亡的恐惧。随着年龄的增长，他接触到的可怕和危险的事情只会增加——恐怖主义、癌症、灾难等等。你如何帮助一个小孩子逃向一位“看不见的”全能的上帝以他为避难所？他如何能在他受了伤或者你们的房子被暴风雨毁坏了的时候，仍然确信上帝是完全的避难所？一种方法是通过讨论上帝在圣经中向我们启示的具体形象：上帝是坚固台、盾牌、山寨、岩石、避难所……
My grandson is now five years old,
and he is increasingly aware of scary and dangerous things. Some are small
fears—splinters, loud noises, and new children at the playground. But other
fears are much more significant, like the fear of death. As he grows older, the
number of scary and dangerous things he is exposed to will only grow—terrorism,
cancer, calamities, etc. How can you help a young child run and trust in an
“unseen” almighty God for his refuge? How can he be confident that God is a
perfect refuge, even when he gets hurt or your house is damaged by a storm? One
way is to talk about the concrete images that God has given us in Scripture:
God is a strong tower, shield, fortress, rock, refuge…and more.
下面的经文和问题讨论可以作为例子供你和孩子一起使用。（来自新修订的《关于上帝的ABC》[3]）你们可以每天或每周讨论一项，或者，寻找一些适合教导的时机，就是你的孩子对某些环境表达恐惧的时候。
Below are some examples of texts and
discussion questions to use with your children. (They are from the newly
revised ABCs of God.) Maybe discuss one per day, or even one a week. Or, look
for specific teachable moments when your child expresses fear over some
circumstance.
阅读箴言18:10[4]。经文中用什么词来形容神的名？“坚固台”。经文中用什么词来表明你将被保护免受伤害？“安稳”。接下来阅读诗篇46:1[5]。什么词意味着上帝像一座坚固台，能保护你的安全？“避难所”。你认为你如何进入这座“坚固台”和“避难所”？有专门的门吗？阅读约翰福音10:9[6]。通往安全的道路是藉着相信耶稣。耶稣就像一扇门。当你把你的信心放在耶稣身上时，上帝就成为你的避难所，一个永远完全安全的地方。如果你相信耶稣，无论你身在何处，身处何种危险，你都可以通过呼求耶稣找到避难所。这周你有什么担心的事吗？我们如何能把这些经文变成祈求上帝帮助的祷告呢？
Read Proverbs 18:10. What words does
the verse use to describe God’s name? [strong tower] What word does the verse
use to show that you will be protected from harm? [safe] Next read Psalm 46:1.
What word means that God is like a strong tower who will keep you safe?
[refuge] How do you think that you get into this “strong tower” and “refuge”?
Is there a special kind of door? Read John 10:9. The way to safety is through
trusting in Jesus. Jesus is like a door. When you put your trust in Jesus, God
becomes your refuge, a place of perfect safety forever. If you are trusting in
Jesus, no matter where you are or what kind of danger you are in, you can find
refuge by calling out to Jesus. Is there anything that you have felt worried
about this week? How can we turn these verses into a prayer asking for God’s
help?
让你的孩子回忆一个让他觉得身处危险之中、害怕某些东西的时候。问他：你试图在什么东西里找到安全吗？那是什么？它让你感到安全吗？为什么可以或者为什么不行？假设你正在外面的公园里，突然狂风大作，电闪雷鸣。你会试着做什么？站在树下可以吗？跑向一辆汽车怎么样？一座建筑物呢？这些东西总能保证你的安全吗？阅读箴言18:10和诗篇46:1。上帝提供的“台”有多坚固？他是全能的。没有任何人或东西比上帝更强大。要在上帝里寻求安全。你需要跑到某个地方，比如一座实际的建筑物里吗？神是“随时的帮助”意味着什么？这如何使得神给予他子民的庇护比其他任何东西所能提供的都更好？你是否曾“奔向”神那里寻求安全和保护呢？发生了什么？有没有圣经经文帮助你在遭患难时感受到神的帮助？
Ask your child to recall a time when
he felt in danger and was scared of something. Ask: Did you try to find safety
in something? What was it? Did it make you feel safe? Why or why not? Suppose
you were outside at the park and a huge storm suddenly came with high winds,
lightning, and hail stones. What would you try to do? Would standing under a
tree be good? What about running to a car? A building? Can these things always
keep you safe? Read Proverbs 18:10 and Psalm 46:1. How strong is the “tower”
that God provides? [He is almighty. There is no one or nothing stronger than
God.] To seek safety in God, do you need to run to a certain place, as in an
actual building? What does it mean that God is a “very present help”? How does
this make the refuge that God gives His people better than anything else? Was
there a time in which you “ran to” God for safety and protection? What
happened? Have there been any Bible verses that have helped you to feel God’s
help in a time of trouble? [See verses such Psalm 18:2a; 34:22; 59:16b;
61:3; Psalm 62:7; John 14:1-3.]
给你的孩子看以下物品之一：放在信封内的贺卡，放在盒子里的珠宝或者一袋糖果。损坏信封、盒子或袋子，而不要损坏卡片、珠宝和糖果。用这个例子来帮助你的孩子理解上帝是他子民的避难所的真正含义。这并不意味着我们的身体将永远保持安全、不受伤害。我们的身体就像“外壳”（信封、盒子或袋子）。我们的灵魂——我们的心灵和头脑——这些部分会永远存在，它们就像放在里面的东西一样。上帝是避难所，意味着他将永远保守最重要的部分的安全。尽管上帝能够保守我们的身体免受一切伤害，因他是如此智慧和至高，但他可能为我们灵性的益处而允许我们受身体上的伤害。对一个基督徒来说，即使死亡也不再是有害的，因为这是上帝将他的子民带到天国永恒避难所的方式。和你的孩子讨论约翰福音14:1-3[7]或罗马书8:38-39[8]中的一些伟大应许，并一起有一段时间的祷告。
Show your child one of the following:
a greeting card within an envelope; jewelry inside a box; a bag of candy.
Damage the envelope, box, or bag in a way that does not damage the card,
jewelry or candy. Use the illustration to help your child understand the true
meaning of God being a refuge to His people. It does not mean that our bodies
will always be kept safe from all physical harm. Our bodies are like the “outer
covering” (the envelope, box, or bag). Our souls—our hearts and minds—the part
of us that will last forever is like what was inside. God being a refuge means
that He will always keep safe what is most important. Even though God is able
to keep our bodies from all harm, He is also wise and sovereign and may allow
physical harm for our spiritual good. Even death is not harmful for a
Christian, because it is the way in which God brings His people into the
eternal refuge of heaven. Talk about some of the great promises found in John
14:1-3 or Romans 8:38-39 and have a time a prayer with your child.
问你的孩子：你担心身体上的伤害吗？是什么让这件事如此可怕？你是否曾担心过更危险的东西，比如撒但、罪恶和你自己的罪？你曾害怕过上帝吗？为什么是或为什么不是？阅读诗篇62:7[9]。你认为大卫主要是在谈论关于他身体的保障和安全吗？什么是“拯救”？拯救就是上帝拯救人脱离他们的罪；从我们因自己的罪而应得的上帝公义的刑罚中被拯救出来。一个人如何能得到这样的庇护，即永远脱离神对你的罪的忿怒，被保守在安全中？通过信靠耶稣。
Ask your child: Do you worry about
physical harm? What makes it so scary? Do you ever worry about even more
dangerous things like Satan and evil and your own sin? Do you ever feel afraid
of God? Why or why not? Read Psalm 62:7. Do you think that David was talking
mainly about protection and safety for his body? What is “salvation”? [God
saving someone from their sin; being saved from the right punishment we deserve
from God because of our sin] How can a person receive this kind of refuge—being
kept safe forever from God’s anger at your sin? [through trusting in Jesus]
Jill Nelson是一名妻子、母亲、祖母、教师和作家。她在主日学任教20多年，并为真理78编写以上帝为中心的课程。
[2] Helping Children to Understand
the Gospel是Truth 78网站编辑的小册子。http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/resources/resource.php?id=19&productPageId=2（2017年7月11日存取）——编者注
[3] ABCs of God是Truth 78网站编辑的小册子。——编者注
[4] 耶和华的名是坚固台，义人奔入，便得安稳。
[5] 神是我们的避难所，是我们的力量，是我们在患难中随时的帮助。
[6] 我就是门，凡从我进来的，必然得救，并且出入得草吃。
[7] 你们心里不要忧愁，你们信神，也当信我。在我父的家里有许多住处；若是没有，我就早已告诉你们了。我去原是为你们预备地方去。我若去为你们预备了地方，就必再来接你们到我那里去；我在那里，叫你们也在那里。
[8] 因为我深信无论是死，是生，是天使，是掌权的，是有能的，是现在的事，是将来的事，是高处的，是低处的，是别的受造之物，都不能叫我们与神的爱隔绝；这爱是在我们的主基督耶稣里的。
[9] 我的拯救，我的荣耀，都在乎神；我力量的磐石，我的避难所，都在乎神。