Recently, my daughter
and I were discussing the death of Jesus. This is one of her favorite
stories and one that her father and I have repeatedly told her.
With the Lords supper approaching we have had many times to tell
and retell Jesus'
death and resurrection. While answering her questions and going
over the details she usually finds some small but significant
fact that we would invariably forget or leave out from the time
before. She is beginning to teach us a thing or two that we take
for granted.
Just before going
to bed one night, this is exactly what happened.
Bedtime is usually
a big game in our house. We tell Kelsy its bedtime and she immediately
asks for ‘just a few more minutes." But this night was different
because she had asked to hear the story of Jesus again and seemed
excited to jump into bed. We began talking and she began with
the usual battery of questions . . .the kind where you never get
finished with the story you started. We were talking about Jesus'
sacrifice and the importance of coming to the Lord's
Table for a believer of faith. She allowed me to continue without
very many questions, and I could see she was getting tired.
As I finished
the story and was kissing her goodnight she reached for me and
gave me a gentle hug. Opening her eyes she looked right at me
and asked, "Mom, I'm
so glad Jesus didn’t come down off the cross, aren’t you?
I waited just
a few moments before answering her–wanting to let this moment
sink into my heart and not fade away. I then agreed with her and
expressed my thankfulness that Jesus finished the work His Father
had given him to do. Then we both decided it was "a hard feeling
to be happy and sad all at the same time."
I think there's
a part of all of us that becomes a little too familiar with the
death of Christ and His sacrifice for us. It*s
like the ending of a book that you've
already read.
It was my daughter
that helped to remind me that there is no ending with Christ*s death. There was a reason he stayed
on the cross, and that reason is all of us. His resurrection is
lived over and over again in us by our changed and renewed lives
with Him.
Our childlike
faith is a gift-a gift that keeps us from becoming too cynical
with the world and with our manmade religiosity. Let's
encourage each other to live our lives with the simplicity of
the gospel and the uncluttered faith of a child.
