The other day in the car, Molly mentioned that she was glad she made it to the car (it was night) before "the spirits" got her. Scooby Doo deals a lot with spirits, and she wasn’t really afraid, she was playing.
But I decided to talk to her about "spirits". I explained that everyone has a spirit inside, and when people die, their spirit leaves their body. And it doesn’t hide in garages to get little girls. 🙂
So then we started talking about where they go, and why, and I gave her the whole plan of salvation.
There are a lot of similarities between explaining Salvation to a 5 year old, and to someone so remote that they’ve never heard of Jesus, or Israel, or anything even remotely connected to it.
She understood readily enough the idea of being naughty, and having someone else take the punishment for it. And she’s really geeked about the idea that God lives inside her now. I had to correct a little when she said "Hey, that means that *I’m* God now, right?!". No. So sad.
But I also wanted to tell her that now she’s part of a group, a group that has accepted Christ. And that there are some people that aren’t part of that group. People in the group are called Christians, and anyone who wants to can become a Christian. Some people either choose not to, or don’t know that it’s an option.
So once we had that squared away, we talked about how her life should be different. We talked about how God has a job for her, and will have many jobs through her life. Her job right now is to grow up big and strong, and listen to Momma and Dad. Her jobs will change as she grows, and as long as she stays close to God, He’ll help her know what those jobs are.
My wife wondered if she was able to grok what was really going on, but I’ve heard her praying about it all on her own, and the things she talks about make me sure she understands.
The first night she prayed "Please help me stay the way I am right now". I asked her what she meant by that, and she said "Without sin, so that I can be close to God." I explained that it’s permanent, she doesn’t have to pray to have her sin taken away every day, but that it *is* good to pray and ask God to help her stay close to him.
I’m excited that she’s excited about this, and it wasn’t just something I pushed her into. She’s curious and inquisitive (is that redundundant?).
So rejoice. 🙂
Rejoicing with you and looking forward to those kinds of conversations in our household some day!!
🙂
What a great day and a great opportunity. Feed the inquistive part to make the most of it. YEAH Molly!
Absolutely wonderful news 🙂
The whole basis of Child Evangelism Fellowship (where I worked) is summed up in this quote:
“A child of five, if properly instructed can as truly believe and be regenerated as an adult.” — Charles Spurgeon
I truly believe that’s true – and am glad to know that it has once again proven to be possible!
Man, kids blow me away. I will be praying for that little girl. Topher, I share your joy man. What a privilege you had.. To see the Holy Spirit work in your little girl’s life. Incredible.
That explains some comments that Molly made this past week when she was with us. Even Sophi is picking up on this from her sister. It is so neat to see God working in their lives.