You might need a kleenex

I have a friend who sent out a very convicting email about a conversation she had with her son. I asked her if she minds if I share it. Her response was..."share with whoever, I want God to use it"...so here it is:

Noah drew a picture of God controlling the weather and Jesus above it all in heaven. He said that God was going to take us up to see Jesus. So, later in the car I took the opportunity to talk some more about his drawing and make the point that Jesus was actually going to come down and get us and take us to live with him and God in Heaven and we will be able to see him and God for the first time. He agreed, and said, "Yeah, we are going to fly up over the earth with Jesus and be able to see everything!".

Then he asked, "Why is Jesus not coming back to get us now?".
I explained to him that Jesus is waiting for everyone to hear about how He loves them and they need to be saved from their sins. He simply replied, "well, lets go tell everyone so he can come back." My heart broke, realizing what a hypocrite I was and thankful that Noah might not be able to put that together quite yet. I then said, "that is what Sassy is doing in Africa. She went far far away to tell boys and girls about Jesus". He replied, simply again, "So I am suppose to tell people about Jesus in Birmingham and Trussville?". I said, "yes". He said, " I am going to tell my class". I said, " That is great", all the time thinking, what have I been doing with my life.

Then, Noah asked me if he could roll down his window in the car (a usual request). I said yes and rolled it down for him. He then proceeded to start yelling out the window, "Everybody! Jesus loves you and wants to save you so you can go home with him!". This is why Jesus said to come to him like a child. I have been convicted ever since, and yet still have not embraced the same freeness to share about Christ. It is only a matter of time before Noah will start asking me why I didn't tell someone about Jesus that we have a conversation with. I welcome that challenge and accountability. Raising the kids is hard and it leaves little room for times of reflection and study of God's Word. However, I am now realizing that training them up in the knowledge and admonition of the Word is going to be the biggest blessing to my spiritual staleness and laziness. Praise God for the words of my four year old.

And here is some scripture that complements this story well:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Matthew 18: 1-6

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Luke 18:25-17

Childlike trust, vulnerability...that's what we are called to be like. In the time these passages were written, children were regarded as a burden until they were strong enough to contribute to the family. Jesus' attitude toward children was very different. Is it so different in our culture today...many people see children as an inconvenience instead of a blessing.

I leave you with this...I have personally been very challenged from what my friend shared and hope that you are too. We are called to seek the Lord with a "childlike faith". Children can teach us many things about ourselves and about how we are commanded to be by our Father. I'm learning that even now with a two month old who can't even talk, but says so much without using words. It's so easy to fill our days up with meaningless nonsense or to care too much about what people will think and to not be intentional with our words, actions and interactions with others.

It's my prayer that Lord will use this post to speak to many hearts. Thank you Kate for sharing your conversation with Noah. Made me laugh and cry all at the same time and more than anything, it challenged me (and hopefully many others).