Childlike Innocence

We have a routine.  A nighttime routine.

First, I say “okay, go find your ‘jammas and get changed!  It’s almost time for bed.”

When he’s done with that, he hugs Daddy.  He runs to his room and jumps into bed.  I cover him with his favorite “soft blanket” and then we read a chapter of his kid’s Bible.

Last night, we read about Noah and the flood.  This Bible doesn’t go into detail with the stories…it keeps them short and simple, using words that a three year old is more likely to understand!  We’ve read through this Bible with him once, and now we’ve started over again.

So, Noah and the flood.  At the end of the story, we read about how God put the rainbow in the sky to show that He’ll never again flood the Earth!  How do you explain that to a three year old?  I tried.  I told him “God promises never to flood the world and kill everyone again.” Then I thought, “wait a minute, that sounds horrible!” so I reiterated: “there were lots and lots of bad people on the Earth that didn’t love God anymore, so He used the flood to get rid of them and start over again.”

It still sounded horrible, but it’s the truth.

Anyway, my little boy then asked a very profound question.  A question that I wasn’t sure how to answer!

“But why were those people bad?”

Has he ever even heard the name satan?  Does he know who the devil is?  I didn’t think so, so I asked.

“Baby, have you heard of satan?  Do you know who the devil is?”

“Umm…yes.”

“Who is he baby?”

“Umm…Jesus?”

“Oh! No.”

I explained, “satan is the bad guy, sweetie.  You know how when something inside you really wants to disobey mommy or be disrespectful?  Well, that’s satan trying to trick you into doing bad things.”

“Oooooh…”

I went on, “We’re supposed to love Jesus, but satan – the devil – hates Jesus.  He wants us to hate Jesus too, but that’s very very wrong.”

James said, “Because Jesus died on the cross?”

…Wow.  Basically, yes.  “He died for us.  And because He made us.  And because He loves us very much, and wants the best for us.”

“I do love Him too, Momma.”

Can you imagine a more tear-inducing conversation than the one I was having just then?

“Can I see the cross?”

We flipped to this picture in his Bible and he just stared.  He looked at the marks on Jesus’ arms and hands and said “did they hurt Him?”

“Yes, baby.  They hurt Him.”

“Why is the army man so mad?  Why did they hurt Him?”

Please tell me, how do I answer that?

“The devil told that army man that Jesus was bad and he believed him.  The devil tricked him, and all the other people who were hurting Jesus.  But we know the truth, right?  We know Jesus is the good guy, not the bad guy.”

Then we flipped to this picture.

“Ooh, she’s sad.  Why?  Is that Jesus?” (pointing to the feet)

“Yes sweetie, that’s Jesus and this is his Momma.  She’s sad because her son is dying on the cross.”

“But…they just put holes in His hands?”

“Yes, and in His feet.”

“But why?”

Can you think of a better person to be sitting there witnessing to than your own child?

“God’s plan was to send his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins.  Do you know what sin is?  It’s when we do bad things, like disobey or hit someone.  Jesus died on the cross so that we don’t have to go live with the devil even though we sin.  Since Jesus died for us, when we ask God to forgive us for our sin we get to go to Heaven and be with God when we die.”

“But you know what, baby?  We’re forgetting the important part!  I know it’s sad that Jesus died on the cross, but He also came back to life!”

“He did??”

“Yep!  God brought Jesus back to life and took Him up to Heaven to be with Him.  Isn’t that awesome!?”

And James did the most awesome fist-pump I’ve ever seen and exclaimed “YESSS!”  No kidding. Haha!

Can he please just stay this sweet and pure forever??