Jesus loves the little children...

Ps 58:3 in action...

   I've got an exciting/terrifying experience to share with you... many, if not most of you have children and can relate to the incessant, repetitive lessons that parents must administer to their offspring.  But there are always the new expressions of depravity that surprise you... the first time they steal, lie, or violently assault their siblings/playmates.  Yesterday, my daughter blasphemed for the first time;  she was playing by herself, got exasperated and blurted out the first name of the second Person of the Trinity!  I know she has heard Jesus's name used sinfully before, so I guess it was only a matter of time... but it still took me offguard momentarily.  I said her name sharply to get her attention and then put her on my lap to explain the situation:

"Tabitha, what's the third commandment?"

"You shall not use God`s name in vain." (if I start her off, she can finish it!)

"Who is Jesus?"

"Jesus is God." (she knows that one pretty well!)

"So you just broke the third commandment... You used God`s name in vain."

"..."

"How did you say Jesus's name? How was your attitude?"

"Mad..."

     I could see the wheels turning, and she's always been sensitive (she`ll cry if you look at her funny!), so I wasn't shocked to see the floodgates burst open.  I let her mourn for a second, then explained to her I wouldn't spank her this time.  She nodded, but continued whimpering and went to her room.  After a couple minutes, I heard her start up again, and headed upstairs to console her.  Nearing the top, I heard what I certainly didn't expect to hear for a couple years, and feared I would never hear:

"What have I done?!?"

     My mind raced... was my little 4 year old actually beginning to understand the implications of sin?  I asked her if she meant what she said downstairs, and she nodded.  I told her that Daddy has broken God's commandments, and if she understood what that meant.

"Remember Adam and Eve?"

"Yeah, they disobeyed God."

"And what happened to them?" 

"They died."

     I explained that everyone who has disobeyed God's commandments deserves to die, but God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, so that we could be forgiven.
     I know my daughter is too young to understand propitiation and substitutionary atonement;  I might be going out on a limb, but I would say she's too young to comprehend most of what the gospel contains and requires.  But she does understand guilt... please pray for her, as I do:  pray that as she grows, God would be merciful to replace her heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and that she would repent.

P.S.  This is my first post entirely on Kindle;  please forgive any grammatical errors!