Our Newest Believer
We had such a wonderful Easter this year. While I typically post lighthearted stories, I cannot help but share this one on a more serious note.
In the weeks leading up to Easter our sweet 4 year old Ian started asking lots of questions about what it means to be a Christian. I explained to him that a Christian is someone that has asked Jesus to come into his or her heart. I told him, as I have many times, that one day God would call him to do that very thing. He would typically respond by saying, "Yep, someday I think I will ask Jesus to come into my heart."
Then one night his questions began to change. He started saying, "Momma, I don't hear God." (He would say this while cupping his hand around his ear.) I told him that God doesn't talk to us out loud like people do. He talks to us through the Bible and in our hearts. He then wanted to know how he would know when God was calling him to ask Jesus to come into his heart. I told him he would know it was time when he felt bad for his sins. Very sweetly and genuinely he looked up at me and said, "Mommy I do feel bad for my sins. I really want Jesus to come into my heart and clean them all out."
We were very happy that God was working in Ian's heart, but we proceeded with caution. Over the next week, we continually redirected Ian to keep asking more questions. After a week we started to realize that he had a better grasp on the Gospel than some of our middle school students. He was able to articulate that Jesus was our Lamb--Jesus was the only person that never sinned--He had to die to pay for our sins--He didn't stay dead, though--He is alive! What's more, he felt real sorrow over the sins that he had done. When Tavis would ask him what sins he had done, Ian would say, "Sometimes I hit my brother, and that's a sin. And sometimes I throw my toys, and that's a sin, too. And those sins are making my heart feel bad."
We decided to let Ian go with Mommy to the Easter service at our church. We told him to listen to our Pastor talk about what Jesus did and that we would talk about it later. He did such a good job paying attention. He even recognized his Cubbies verse, "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures."
The next day we spent some time talking about every aspect of the Gospel one more time. That night he got almost agitated and said, "WHEN are you going to let me ask Jesus to come into my heart?" I could not help but think, "Let the little children come to me..." That night Ian asked Jesus to come into his heart and clean out all his sins.
The next day I was talking to Ian and asked him how his heart felt. He said, "Momma, before I asked Jesus to come into my heart it felt real bad, but now it feels REAL GOOD!" This has been one of my proudest moments as a mommy.
In the weeks leading up to Easter our sweet 4 year old Ian started asking lots of questions about what it means to be a Christian. I explained to him that a Christian is someone that has asked Jesus to come into his or her heart. I told him, as I have many times, that one day God would call him to do that very thing. He would typically respond by saying, "Yep, someday I think I will ask Jesus to come into my heart."
Then one night his questions began to change. He started saying, "Momma, I don't hear God." (He would say this while cupping his hand around his ear.) I told him that God doesn't talk to us out loud like people do. He talks to us through the Bible and in our hearts. He then wanted to know how he would know when God was calling him to ask Jesus to come into his heart. I told him he would know it was time when he felt bad for his sins. Very sweetly and genuinely he looked up at me and said, "Mommy I do feel bad for my sins. I really want Jesus to come into my heart and clean them all out."
We were very happy that God was working in Ian's heart, but we proceeded with caution. Over the next week, we continually redirected Ian to keep asking more questions. After a week we started to realize that he had a better grasp on the Gospel than some of our middle school students. He was able to articulate that Jesus was our Lamb--Jesus was the only person that never sinned--He had to die to pay for our sins--He didn't stay dead, though--He is alive! What's more, he felt real sorrow over the sins that he had done. When Tavis would ask him what sins he had done, Ian would say, "Sometimes I hit my brother, and that's a sin. And sometimes I throw my toys, and that's a sin, too. And those sins are making my heart feel bad."
We decided to let Ian go with Mommy to the Easter service at our church. We told him to listen to our Pastor talk about what Jesus did and that we would talk about it later. He did such a good job paying attention. He even recognized his Cubbies verse, "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures."
The next day we spent some time talking about every aspect of the Gospel one more time. That night he got almost agitated and said, "WHEN are you going to let me ask Jesus to come into my heart?" I could not help but think, "Let the little children come to me..." That night Ian asked Jesus to come into his heart and clean out all his sins.
The next day I was talking to Ian and asked him how his heart felt. He said, "Momma, before I asked Jesus to come into my heart it felt real bad, but now it feels REAL GOOD!" This has been one of my proudest moments as a mommy.