I hope today’s object lesson can be of use to youth ministries, family devotionals and family home evenings. The topic is gentle persuasion is like the wind.

Think of various times you have been outside and in the wind. Some days the breeze is gentle and relaxing while other times the gusts are fierce and you have to lean against the wind to stay upright. A calm, persistent and general persuasion can be very much like a gentle wind. People are usually more willing to listen to a different point of view if they’re not being yelled at. Parents and grandparents teach their children/grandchildren not through one discussion but through periods of persistent continual times of instruction and by example.

Following the wind imagery one voice or spurt of wind might not seem to have much impact, but add that to another or another where there are a group of people gathered in common cause. The group have more strength due to the number of its members. So the wind had more strength by its volume.

As a game, blow up a balloon and take turns blowing at it to keep it in the air. Use short bursts of breath and steady breaths of air. Blow at it while you’re close to the balloon or far away. Are there different techniques to move the balloon if it close to the ground verses high in the air? After you play the game discuss the various means of communication and how those means can be compared to gusts of wind and the balloon.

Links: (1 Kings 19:11, 12)

Please feel free to give additional ideas on this topic in the comment section of the blog/site