“Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb” –Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It
“Here I am humbled by Your Majesty/Covered by Your grace so free/ Here I stand knowing I’m a sinful man/ Covered by the Blood of the Lamb” –Delirious-Majesty (Here I Am)
How many times do we talked or sing about being “covered by the blood of the Lamb” in a month? It doesn’t seem to be a regular topic of conversation, but it definitely comes up. I was a teaching a kindergarten Sunday school class last year, and a little girl named Sarah Kate asked me what this means. It went like this:
“Miss Mary… you know that song today that said “covered by some blood” or something?”
“Yes I do, Sarah Kate. It said “Covered by the Blood of the Lamb.”
“If I believe in Jesus, do I have to be covered in blood? My dad put blood on my brother’s face when he killed his first deer, and that was really really gross. I don’t want that to ever happen to me, even if it is a lamb and not a deer!”
“We are covered by the blood of the Lamb.”
“You have to be covered in the red, nasty blood of a farm animal if you want to be a Christian.”
This was a great chance to explain that Jesus shed His blood for us. He was the sacrificial lamb in our place. We do things that are not what God wants us to do, and because of those sins, we don’t deserve God’s love or to live forever with Him. He sent Jesus to take the punishment that we deserved for these bad things. Before Jesus died on the cross, a sacrifice was required for people to be right with God. They would kill a spotless animal like a lamb to be forgiven of their sins. Jesus was that sacrifice for us. His blood was shed for us, and we are “covered” in it, so that when God looks at us He doesn’t see our sin, but He sees Jesus’ perfect blood covering up our sins.
Sarah Kate’s gears were turning as she was learning more about what it meant to be covered by the blood of the lamb. I was really surprised by her question and how much that one phrase had stuck with her. I’m glad she asked, but I wonder how many other kids who hear a phrase during a song or a message and don’t fully understand what is being said.
What is one question that you have been asked that surprised you?