"Mommy, why did the bad guys make Jesus die on the cross?" asked my three-year-old daughter. I glanced in my rear-view mirror on our way to preschool. It was an out-of-the-blue question, but since we had read about the crucifixion in our Bible stories the night before, it was not completely unexpected.
I tried to make my answer preschool-simple. "They didn't believe that he was God's Son."
"Did the bad guys do a good thing?"
I was puzzled at her logic, then remembered talking with her about how it was God's plan for Jesus to die on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. "Sometimes God lets something bad happens and then uses it to do something good." No response except for a blank look. Let me try again. "It's like Naomi dying, honey," I started, referring to her younger sister who had died in my second trimester of pregnancy. "We were sad about that, right? That was a sad thing, but God used it to make some good things happen, like meeting new friends and helping other mommies who have babies in Heaven." She still looked kind of blank. I chuckled, ready to give up for now. "It's kind of confusing, isn't it?"
She laughed, too, and we both fell silent, letting the sound from the radio fill the car. It was a local Christian station, WMHK, and singer Aaron Shust was talking briefly about an experience of his young son being in the hospital, and how God gave him peace and helped him to trust Him fully, even when it made no sense.
Suddenly, my daughter piped up again. "He's talking about the same thing as you, Mommy. Why is he saying the same thing as you? Does he know you?"
Wow. Maybe she did get it after all. "No, he doesn't know me, honey," I replied when I could, blinking back tears. "But we both know Jesus."
And when we face the hard times, that makes all the difference.
I tried to make my answer preschool-simple. "They didn't believe that he was God's Son."
"Did the bad guys do a good thing?"
I was puzzled at her logic, then remembered talking with her about how it was God's plan for Jesus to die on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. "Sometimes God lets something bad happens and then uses it to do something good." No response except for a blank look. Let me try again. "It's like Naomi dying, honey," I started, referring to her younger sister who had died in my second trimester of pregnancy. "We were sad about that, right? That was a sad thing, but God used it to make some good things happen, like meeting new friends and helping other mommies who have babies in Heaven." She still looked kind of blank. I chuckled, ready to give up for now. "It's kind of confusing, isn't it?"
She laughed, too, and we both fell silent, letting the sound from the radio fill the car. It was a local Christian station, WMHK, and singer Aaron Shust was talking briefly about an experience of his young son being in the hospital, and how God gave him peace and helped him to trust Him fully, even when it made no sense.
Suddenly, my daughter piped up again. "He's talking about the same thing as you, Mommy. Why is he saying the same thing as you? Does he know you?"
Wow. Maybe she did get it after all. "No, he doesn't know me, honey," I replied when I could, blinking back tears. "But we both know Jesus."
And when we face the hard times, that makes all the difference.
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