A Story About God and Alfalfa

Recently, I have been helping my friend Reagan teach Bible class on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights at our church. Many times I wish that I had a recorder just to play back the conversations. Their comments are sometimes hilarious enough that I think they could've made it onto that old show, "Kids Say the Darndest Things."

Thus far, the story about Alfalfa is my favorite. This particular group of kids was in first grade, if I recall. Reagan and I teach in the "Reel Room" where we have the kids watch a clip from an old cartoon and somehow try to make it applicable to a Bible lesson. Sometimes it goes over the kids' heads, but you'd be surprised how much they know. While occasionally they get hopelessly distracted and off-topic, oftentimes they are quite profound and seem to have a grasp on the most important things of all. Other times, they're just hilarious! I find myself biting my tongue and my lips trying not erupt into laughter, while wondering how on earth Reagan is going to respond.


Anyway, I think that's all the pertinent background information. So allow me to begin. We were talking to the kids about how we need to put God first in our lives and how if we don't, there will be consequences. For example, we talked about Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and being thrown out of the Garden of Eden. We talked about Jonah refusing to go to Nineveh to preach and then being swallowed by a whale.


We were also teaching the kids about grace and how in every situation, there are consequences when people don't do what God tells them to do, but the greatest thing about God is that He is always gracious. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, but God still loved them and they were able to have children and provide for themselves. God didn't decide to just wipe them off the face of the earth; he merely removed them from the garden. Jonah was swallowed by a whale, but God saved Jonah in the end and gave him another chance. Class was going splendidly...until we got to the story of David.


Reagan: "What do y'all know about David?"


Kid #1: "I have an uncle named David!"


Kid #2 & Kid #3: "My Dad's name is David!"


Reagan: "Well, that's...that's...I'm talking about David from the Bible like David and Bathsheba, David and Goliath..."


Kids: "Oh yeah, David!"


While I stifled my giggles, I thought we were probably back on track for the next few minutes.


But it wasn't to be.


Reagan: "But even though David made a lot of mistakes, God showed him mercy."


Kid #4: "What's mercy?"


Me: "It's sort of like grace and forgiveness, when you get something you don't really deserve."


Reagan: "Like when someone forgives you for doing something wrong."


Kid #2: "I know that Alfalfa says mercy a lot!!! 'Mercy!' That's what he says. All the time."


Kid #3: "Who's Alfalfa?"


Kid #1: "He's on that show about the...the..."


Kid #4: "Little Rascals?"


Kid #2: "Yeah, that's it!"


The conversation spread to the other side of the room at the speed of light. Well I guess it would be at the speed of sound, but you get the point.


Kid #5: "Who's Alfalfa?"


Kid #6: "No! He said Alvin! Like the chipmunks!"


Kid #7: "Oh! Alvin! I like Alvin!"


Kid #2: "I wasn't talking about Alvin. I was talking about Alfalfa!"


Reagan: "Okay, well God forgives people over and over throughout the Bible. Anybody have any prayer requests?"


I love Bible class.