The Faith of a Child

I wasn't expecting the evening to be anything more than it usually is. VBS family night is what it is, and I have been to it year after year after year. And, I have watched Joshua sing praise songs to Jesus in front of the church from time to time since he was in 3 year old choir. But, last night was the first time he was old enough to be a part of the VBS Family Night Musical. And, I was completely caught off guard. My emotions surprised me.

I heard Joshua singing the songs all week, and I thought they were sweet. I even commented to Lu Anne, our music director, how much I liked the words to the songs. But, when I actually watched Joshua sing in front of the church, I was completely taken aback.

There he stood on the front row, focused. Erik talks a lot to the boys about focus, and I saw the fruit of his lectures last night. Joshua kept his eyes on Lu Anne the entire time - no matter what the kids around him were doing. He was focused, his eyes fixed on the director. He sang and did incredibly well keeping up with all the hand motions.

There was one particular song that moved me intensely. The song talked about the unshakable, unbreakable Word of God. And, during the chorus I heard my sweet son sing these words to a slow, soft rhythm, "I love the Word of God." The look on his sweet face, the focus and intensity in his eyes, it was more than my heart could bear, and I lost it. I cried, really to be quite honest, I wept. There standing before me was my oldest son singing about loving the Word of God. I could ask for nothing more. It is my greatest desire that he would love God and His word with all his sweet little (BIG) heart.

Now, I realize that he is only 5. And, I'm not sure how much of the song he completely understood. If you ask him about Jesus coming into his heart, he'll tell you he has already asked Jesus into his heart. We talk about spiritual things a lot, but you just never know how much they are grasping. I believe they grasp a lot more than we realize, and that is why I never hesitate to talk about anything and everything with my boys. JCT may not grasp it, but Joshua may, and eventually things will begin to click for JCT.

Last night when we returned home and put the boys to bed, Erik and I sat on opposite ends of the couch facing each other, just talking. We haven't had a TV in over a month (lightning strike), so Erik has gotten accustomed to listening to me ramble from about 8:30 until about 10:00. He just sits there and eats a bowl of cereal, and I open my heart up and talk about everything - a flight of ideas of sorts. It is therapeutic for me, and he never complains, so it has become our routine.

I digress. . . So, we sat talking, and I shared what my heart felt while I watched Joshua sing. We talked about how that is all we could ever want for him - a heart filled to the brim with worship. And, even if he didn't understand all the words to the song, I believe that his little heart was worshipping. It is simply natural for creation to worship our Creator, a natural outflow. And, who is more pure and free to worship than a child filled to overflowing with simple faith. As adults we complicate worship, we complicate theology, we complicate God's unconditional love. When in actuality faith in God is a simple thing really. Even He, Himself, asks us to come to Him like a child, not like a Biblical scholar. He doesn't need us to figure Him out, He just wants us to love Him.

Worship is simply a natural outflow of a life that loves God, thanks for the reminder, my sweet Joshua. I find myself praying and asking God to take your little heart, to hold it close to His own, but in actuality only you have the power to ask Him to hold your heart. And, I believe you that you have. I pray that God will continue to grow your sweet heart, to mold it, to make it like His own. I'm so proud of you, my son. May your life be a love song to your Creator. May you worship Him with all that He gives you. I love you, sweet boy.