The gist of the song, for those of you far too young to remember it, is a conversation between Henry and Liza regarding a hole in Henry's bucket. Liza suggests that Henry repair the hole by using straw, but Henry says the straw is too long. Liza suggests cutting the straw, but Henry isn't sure what to use to make the cut. Liza recommends he use his ax, but Henry says it's not sharp enough; Liza tells him to sharpen it, he doesn't know what to use. She tells him to use a stone; he counters with the fact that the stone is too dry, so Liza tells him to wet the stone. Well, you can imagine the outcome. Henry can't wet the stone because there's a hole in the bucket; thus, he can't draw water into the bucket and on and on and on.
I have always hated that song! Henry isn't exactly a problem-solver or a creative thinker and really doesn't appear to be too motivated to remedy what, back in the day, was a real problem - he had a hole in his bucket!
Other than the similarities in title, the connection between "There's a Hole in the Bucket" and The Hole in Our Gospel may not be particularly obvious. Stearns believes that as Christians we have a gaping hole that prevents us from fulfilling the purpose for which we are called. In effect, we have the "bucket," our salvation, but it isn't functioning as intended because we fail to make our faith public; too many of us aren't committed to being "Jesus with skin on" so that those who don't know Christ can learn who He is through what we say and do. That's the hole that is making the bucket far from useful.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven, he issued this commission to his disciples: "And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race]" (Mark 16:15). If this command had been to His apostles only, you and I may never have heard of the Good News; therefore, we must assume that God intends for all of us who are His disciples to "preach and publish openly" to others just as someone did for us.
As parents, the most important people with whom we want to share the Gospel is with our children. Our children learn most powerfully from us. Actively living our faith before them is critical if they are to embrace Christianity for themselves. Children are like Henry's bucket; we can fill them to the brim with the knowledge and understanding of who God is so that they are fulfilling their purpose and are useful, or we can stand around, wring our hands, come up with excuses for why we can't.
Each of us has a place that only God can fill. If we don't fill it with Him, we will fill it with other things. We will never be satisfied; our "bucket" won't hold water. Our children are just like us. If we don't teach them what should go into their bucket, they will attempt to fill it. Their world (and ours) offers them plenty of substitutes, but there is nothing that replaces the love of God in their lives.
Instead of hoping that our children will come to salvation "by osmosis," let's seal the hole in our Gospel by actively leading them to Christ so that one day we aren't like Henry wondering what to do about the holes in their buckets.
Lord, light a fire under us! Help us to get active in our faith, taking up the cross, following You, and telling our children and others about You. It's not enough to just hope that our children will one day live for You; we must disciple them so they will choose to live for You and in turn disciple others.
Thank You for the opportunity to lead our children to a relationship with You. Amen.
