On a day I could have actually slept in (you know those days are so rare!), I woke this morning just before 5. Too early for a Saturday; but since I was wide awake with no chance of going back to sleep, I decided to get up, make coffee, and start my day slowly. I enjoyed a nice long bath (without the usual interruptions since the kids were all still snugly slumbering) and just… relaxed.
After getting dressed and making myself a cup of coffee, I decided to grab my book and snuggled under the warm comfort of my bed and read. Not long after, my Lil Man woke up (of course he slept with us last night, again) all smiles, and within a few seconds jumped up and said, “I’m going to get my Bible and read it.”
I smiled both inwardly and outwardly and told him, “Okay, go get it and you can snuggled to me and read it.” He was gone and back in a flash, and snuggled under the blanket next to me with it propped on his chest, pretending to read. I honestly think that has to be the single best morning moment of my life. That my Lil Man’s first thought when he woke was to get his Bible and ‘read’ it (even though he can’t read) warmed my heart to unknown depths.
It’s in moments like this that I’m reminded of mustard seeds. We, as his parents, have planted the seed in Lil Man’s heart and God is working to grow that seed– even at the tender age of five. I think of all the children, so sweet and innocent, who don’t have the benefit of Christian parents and who could, possibly, go through their entire lives without being sprinkled with the seeds of the Word and it breaks my heart.
I’d like to think that somewhere along the way, they will hear the Word of God; but the truth is that some children become adults without ever hearing the Gospel, without ever knowing there truly is a loving and merciful Savior awaiting them. There are children who are born to families who don’t believe, who practice religions that don’t worship the One and Only Living God. There are children born to families whose religion is based on false doctrine and false word and false gods. I don’t know which scenario is the most heartbreaking– those who never hear, or those who are taught lies.
It is so hard to fathom the vast numbers of people who don’t know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is mind-boggling and gut-wrenching. I look at my sweet little boy and see the nameless faces of millions of children all over the world– their faces just as sweet and just as innocent, and I know that God loves them and wants them to spend eternity with Him.
Mustard seeds. I keep thinking of mustard seeds.
“Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
Today I pray for mustard seeds; that all the little children of the world will come to know Jesus and His love for them; and that they will grow in their faith and love and accept His open arms of saving grace.
The Grace of God
