Two beautiful things happened today in the midst of a difficult day...
First, Ethan prayed (in a 3-year-old way) to receive Christ. We were cuddling together just before his naptime after reading a book about God's presence all around us and in our hearts. He wanted to know if God was there with us and I said that he was and that God could be with him always if he asked Jesus to forgive him of his sins and became a child of God. We had just been reading John 1 the other day and talking about becoming children of God through believing in Christ. That day he said he wasn't ready to be a child of God. In fact, he hasn't seemed to have much interest in spiritual things. I've been trying to remember that he's only 3--he's got some time. But today he said he wanted to be a child of God. I asked him if he had ever sinned, to which he said yes, he had. I told him that people who don't ask Jesus to forgive them would not go to Heaven but to Hell instead. He is clearly beginning to understand and desire Heaven, and he wanted to go there. So we prayed together, him repeating after me a basic prayer asking for repentance and to be made a child of God. It was a sweet moment.
I definitely don't hang everything upon a prayer like this, especially since he pretty much recanted two seconds after saying "amen", saying that he really didn't want to be a child of God. But...God is working in his little heart. Lord, may he be a strong man of God for you someday!
The second beautiful thing was a gift Jay brought home for me from the Awana carnival. Each kid had the opportunity to pick out up to 20 toys and trinkets...the kind of stuff that kids love passionately but that drives parents completely insane when it breaks the first time a sibling even looks at it. So, of course he brought home an armload of great boy stuff--binoculars, a sword pen, a coin trick, a parachute guy, toy handcuffs, army helmet, etc. But then he pulled out something he said was for me...a delightfully cheap goldtone ring with a pretty blue "stone" in it. My heart melted. Even though I know it will turn my finger black in 2.7 femtoseconds. I love it. What a precious gift. What a precious son. I hope I never forget.
4 comments:
I appreciate the fact that you point out that you don't put all of your stock in a prayer, but in the child's heart. There are many who rely upon the words alone.
On the other hand, I also know people who insist that there is some "age of accountability," whether that be 12 or 16 or 18, and you don't "decide to accept Christ" until after that point.
I think examples like this - and I know many examples of very young followers of Christ - prove otherwise. It's obvious that God has instilled in us a sense of right and wrong, even at a very young age, and He has the power to heal that sin, no matter how old.
I've never really held to an age of accountability...where does that come from, anyway? I can't think of any scriptures that would support such an idea. And several NT passages seem to mention whole families turning to Christ. John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit before he was even born (although clearly he would be an exception to the norm!), and Jesus said, "let the little children come to me for the Kingdom belongs to such as these".
At any rate, it's not really the decision (at whatever age) that actually saves a person, but the faith that God instills in them. And I agree with you that God appears to give faith to even the very young. My son Jay prayed a sincere prayer at just over 3 years old and continues to have a soft heart toward God. As for Ethan, time will tell.
Interesting topic!
way to go E-man!
I don't know of any scripture that supports an "age of accountability" either. I do know that Christ called on people to come to Him having the faith of a child, and I also agree with your point about entire families coming to Him as further evidence against an age of accountability.
And ditto on what actually saves a person. Too many of us have the notion that it's something we do. Maybe that's why the age of accountability has creeped into our vernacular. We've convinced ourselves that it's all of us, and that we have to have a certain amount of smarts.
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