He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:2-4
“So mom, about that sin thing…” a squeaky voice said from the backseat, “what is that again?”
My ears immediately perked up at my 5-year-old asking this spiritual question. As a pastor’s wife, Bible school graduate, and long time Christ-follower myself, I have prayed often and wondered when this day would come. I tried to play it cool and explain in simple terms: “Sin is anything we do, think, or say that disobeys God. It separates us from Him–” “But mom?” she cut me off with another question, “I can’t see God, so how can I be close to Him?”
We’d had this kind of conversation before– trying to grasp the basics of an incomprehensible God. It’s hard for a little mind to wrap around such massive concepts, but as we talked, it became clear she understood the tentpoles of the Gospel: Jesus was perfect and died so we could be forgiven. We want to be close to God forever, but we can’t without Jesus. His power has to live inside of us for us to obey His commands and be in His family.
Walking my 5-year-old through the Gospel reminded me of how easy it really is to know and follow Christ. We love to complicate it, make it about us: what we can do for God and how He will bless us. But the Gospel is simple: Christ measured up, so we don’t have to. His love covers us, so we can live in community with a perfect God. We never have to wonder if we’re good enough, and news flash, we’re not! Understanding the Gospel doesn’t require a theological degree or 10 years of experience; we’re not applying for the position of “Christ follower.” We are called simply to come to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and trust in Him.
I am so thankful to report that after a few days of increasingly curious questions from the mind of a child, my daughter decided to trust in Jesus to save her. It wasn’t a grand theological dissertation, but the prayer of a child calling to her father. Whether you’ve been a believer for 20 years or you haven’t yet fully trusted Christ with your life, I pray you will come to Him with childlike faith today. I pray in some ways, you never grow up, but instead always seek the Lord with the humility, honesty, and whole-hearted love of a child coming to her Father.
How have you complicated the Gospel, and what action can you take to become more childlike in your faith today?
Your fellow Able Mom,
Emily
Lord, give me the faith of a child, pure and unhindered by the busyness of adulthood. Thank you for the truth of the Gospel: that you sent your perfect Son to die for my sin, shame, and separation from you. Thank you for defeating my sin so that I can be close to you. Please lead me today as I lead my children. Cover me with your love and bring me to rest in you.
Connect with Emily:
IG: @em.grace.davidson
FB: emily.dewerse
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