I’m following up on my post earlier this week, Seeing Jesus Like a Child. In that post I talked about how moving it was to read the crucifixion account as told in the Jesus Storybook Bible with my 4-year old son, Liam. Some readers wanted me to share how reading the resurrection went as well.
I’d planned on sharing the way in which Liam rolled around around like a spaz with so much excitement when we got to the part where Jesus appeared alive to his friends, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I got too busy with work. It truly was awesome to see the sheer joy and enthusiasm Liam had when we read the resurrection story. And it’s proof that the gospel story is incredibly compelling.
As cool as that was, something even cooler happened when we read the story of Saul’s conversion. On that night, Liam decided to ask Jesus to come into his heart. I can’t even begin to describe how incredible it was to listen to my little boy give his life to Jesus. It wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t recite the Westminster Confession or have tongues of fire descend on him. He simply said, “God please come into my heart and give me a new heart.” And that was that. But he knows the implications and has been talking about them since.
Now, yesterday was an interesting day. I had a lot of work to do, our baby Dylan didn’t sleep will the night before, and I was seriously grumpy. I wanted to let my wife get some much needed sleep, but I also wanted to get to work. So, I turned on the TV, sat Liam in front of it and got to it. Well, Liam wasn’t going to have any of that. He kept talking my ear off, doing things he knew he shouldn’t have to get my attention, and generally making life a little difficult.
I didn’t handle it very well, told him to go somewhere else, and used the age old “respect your parents” angle. I could tell he was frustrated that I didn’t give him my attention, but I have to confess I didn’t care.
A little later, I heard something that melted my heart. My son was in the living room praying this over and over: “God, please come back into my heart again. God, please come back into my heart again.”
I instantly knew that it was my fault he would pray this. I’d made him feel like a bad boy for wanting to be with me.
Talk about a horrible feeling.
I called Liam over to me. He got a big smile and came running onto my lap.
“Hey buddy,” I said, giving him a big hug. “I heard what you were praying.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I want God to come back into my heart.”
“Guess what? You don’t have to keep praying that,” I told him. “God loves you so much that when he gives you a new heart, it’s new forever. You don’t have to ask God back into your heart because He never left.”
Well, that was some pretty good news indeed for my boy. He smiled, relaxed, and said he was so glad.
And here’s the deal. We all believe this way deep down. We may not pray out loud for God to come back into our hearts over and over again, but we think it. We often feel ashamed of our sin, and doubt the salvation that God has offered us freely through Jesus. And what a shame that the devil lies to us this way. We forget what Paul tells is in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
My son knows that I love him, even when he does things wrong. He knows that while I may discipline him, I’ll never abandon him or cut him off. And now he’s learning that our heavenly Father, who is a way better daddy than me, feels the same way about us. It’s a simple truth, that once again I was reminded off by God’s grace through a 4-year old boy.
Who needs Calvin when you have kids?
Great story man. Poor guy. That must have knocked the wind out of you to hear him saying that.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by thejakers: What my 4-year old taught me about perseverance of the saints: http://bit.ly/9mtQ60...