SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO HIM

I've been very privileged to enjoy relationships with children of all ages and from all walks of life. Kids are full of curiosity and approach life with a "slate" that's a lot cleaner than ours as adults. They have a refreshing way of looking at things, even spiritual things, that I treasure.

Sometimes how they view "God things" is delightfully comical. I remember a group of kids discussing the fact that "Jesus made this whole world." A 5-year-old girl with just enough Sunday school to be dangerous replied, "Well, duh! He was a carpenter!" Another little girl proudly announced that she had Jesus in her heart, to which I replied, "So do I!" She looked at me with pity and said, "No, you don't! He's only ONE guy!"

Then there are those precious moments like when I overheard a small boy, playing with wooden blocks with another boy, ask him, "Did you know that Jesus died for you?" And the times - more than once - that a child asked me if I was saved. Or the time a six-year-old Christian evangelical girl grieved over something wrong she had done and I reminded her that Jesus died for that sin. She looked up with tears in her eyes, and asked in wonder, "He did that for me?"

The little boy in the photo at the top of this post is named Noah. Once upon a time, he sat on my lap and we talked about heaven. He told me that since I was "old" (Hey!), I would surely get there first and would I save him a place? But less than two years later he died in a tragic accident, and now Noah is saving me a place. His mom, who at the time was a Sunday school teacher for their local Catholic parish, told me recently when we ran into each other at a restaurant that she and the rest of Noah's family had just become Protestants, joining the Lutheran church near their home. A step in the right direction to be sure!

Speaking of Lutheran members of Christ's body, I just want to share with you a special moment with a 3-year-old Lutheran girl who's 8-year-old brother (see his drawing below) plans to become a pastor someday. She asked me why we should go to church, and I replied, "So we can learn more about what Jesus did for us." "Like make kittens?" she asked. I quickly added, "And don't forget chocolate!" We laughed and then I added, "But most important, how he died on the cross so we can go to heaven." She nodded and then did the most remarkable thing: She stretched out her little arms at the shoulders and let her head drop forward so her dark brown locks hung in her face, and we shared a moment of silence while we let ourselves feel what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us that long ago day. The 50+ age difference between us meant absolutely nothing while we both mentally returned to that "hill far away." I'll never forget that moment as long as I live.