We try to pepper our conversations around here with talk of the Lord, choosing today who you will serve {Ty says, you have to pick if you are on God’s Team or satan’s team} and the promise of an eternity in Heaven. As a result, all of our children have had a very clear concept of Heaven and Hell from toddler years on. Some people believe that this is too early for them to grasp Salvation and all it means, and while I agree that yes, some concepts are larger than their capability, I will never ever walk away from the chance to pray the Salvation prayer with a child who comes to me with NO prompting, and begins to ask about it. The matters of the heart are the Lords, not mine, to judge.
We have been talking a lot more about death and life, Heaven and Hell lately, since my Grandpa passed away. It was no surprise then, that on my way to preschool from the backseat, Paxton was talking about Jesus and Grandpa up in Heaven.
“Jesus up in Heaben…..”
Yes, buddy He sure is.
“Jesus in my Heart?”
No, not yet, but someday you will ask Him in your heart.
“Jesus in the kids’ hearts? And Mommy & Daddy’s hearts?”
Yes, your brother and sisters have asked Jesus in their hearts. And Mommy & Daddy too…
“I asked Jesus in my heart….”
No, not yet, someday when you are big.
“Paxton ask Jesus in his heart?!”
Yup, someday you will ask Jesus in your heart.
After a few more minutes of talking, I realized he wasn’t going to drop it.
Paxton, do you want to ask Jesus in your heart?
“Yeah, I DO!!!!”
Ok, then repeat after me:
Dear Jesus,
Dear Jesus….
Please come into my heart to live, please forgive me for my sins and be my Savior. Amen.
He repeated after me beautifully, and with pounding heart and teary eyes, I caught his glance in the rear view mirror and told him how PROUD I was of him! That he was a CHRISTIAN now! And that Jesus and the angels were having a Born Again Birthday Party in Heaven. That God wrote his name in the Book of Life, and that meant one day, he would get to go live with Jesus.
We get to preschool to pick up Avery and he runs right up to her teacher Miss Melissa and tells her his big news…..
“Miss Lissa! Jesus in mine heart!!!!!”
Miss Melissa and Avery were so excited for him! We couldn’t wait to come home and call Daddy and tell him the good news.
Later that afternoon, Paxton woke up from naps and raced out to remind us all again that he had Jesus in his heart! He was so proud to tell Destiny when she got home from school, too.
Here is a video of him telling us about it again over dinner…….
Please excuse the food in his mouth. Mommy has bad timing! 🙂
To commemorate this great event, we write the children’s Born Again Birthdays on the calendar, so we can honor and celebrate them again and again. Sometimes we do a Born Again Birthday Cake for them all to share in the smack middle of all their special days {cause that’s a lot of sugar!}, other times if we are having a special dessert anyways, then we will do individual celebrations, complete with candle. You can decide those family traditions as you go, we just want them to remember and honor that special LIFE changing day forever.
Helping to lead your child to Christ is such a big moment, excited but kind of daunting too. Is there a right or wrong way to do it? What if we mess up, does it count? All normal questions, with simple answers:
Want a simple way to help your children understand Salvation?
Try the ABC’s…. {From our Bible School curriculum 2 years ago}
A Admit we are sinners.
B Believe God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
C Claim Jesus as Lord of your life. This means you act different from the world, and show God’s love to those around you in all you say and do.
After our children have accepted Jesus in their hearts, we tell them that the Lord has washed their hearts clean from the ugly “weeds” of sins. (this gives a good reference point later, when our children tell a lie, that a weed grew in their heart when they told that lie.) The only way to get that weed out, is to say sorry for their sin to their Heavenly Father, and He’ll clean it out and make it beautiful again.
The second thing we talk about, is that God has opened His BIG book, called the “Book of Life” and has written their name in it! That means someday, when Jesus comes back for us, or when they die, they are welcome into Heaven. WOW, how exciting!
Then we tell them that the Angels are dancing and having a Praise Party up in Heaven.
Why?
Well, they are celebrating a Born Again Birthday! Because today you were Born Again, fresh and clean without sin. Not in your Mommy’s tummy, but in your HEART, a new life in Christ this time!
Once our children become Christians, they are also allowed to partake in Communion at Church. After so many years of being passed by, this is a big deal at our house! We make sure they understand, it’s NOT snack time, it represents the body and blood of Jesus, and the life He gave so they could have eternal life.
I am one proud Momma of 4 little born again believers, who put their trust in a really BIG God, that they now all serve as their Lord and Savior.
Praise His name!
~T
I didn’t have a blog back in the year of Destiny’s salvation story, but you can click on the other children’s names to read their Born Again Birthday stories…..
Destiny, almost 3: June 30th, 2006
Tylan, age 3: October 20, 2010
Avery, age 2: November 11, 2010
Paxton, age 2 1/2: May 15th, 2013
4 little Fergusons 