Caleb

I just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone about what a blessing Caleb is to us! God has given him a heart devoted to Christ and this is so exciting to us. On Sunday, March 2nd, Caleb and Emman were going through the normal bedtime routine of reading the Bible. They were reading the story of the woman at the well (John 4). When Emman read to Caleb the part where Jesus says, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water... Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life," Caleb told Emman that he wanted living water. Emman explained what this meant and told Caleb that all he had to do was ask Jesus to come and live in his heart. He asked Caleb if he wanted to do that and Caleb said yes. So kneeling beside Caleb's toddler bed, Emman lead Caleb in a simplified version of the sinner's prayer!

I know that many of you are now thinking, "Oh, that is sweet, but it doesn't really mean anything." I understand your thoughts, I had them too when Caleb came out of his room that night and announced what had just happened. Afterall, he is not quite 2 years and 3 months old how could he really understand God, Jesus, and salvation. But the Lord has humbled me since then and reminded me of some very important passages in the Bible:

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Luke 18:15-17

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18:1-6

He has once again shown me that His ways are not my own and are beyond my understanding. He has reminded me that these things are not mine to judge, but His, only He can see the heart. He has once again removed the scales from my eyes and shown me that He CAN NOT and WILL NOT fit into any box I try to put Him in. Who am I to say what one so young can comprehend about the One that is so big and great, that when I am honest I must admit, that I cannot fully comprehend myself. Perhaps it is even true that the younger we are, and less corrupted in our minds by the thoughts of this world that seek to disprove its creator, the better we are able to understand and comprehend God.

So whether you are convinced or not, I must say that I truly believe that God honored Caleb's prayer and that He does live in his heart. Since that day Caleb has talked about Jesus constantly, has told others about Him, and has started praying on his own for anything and everything. He will quickly tell you that Jesus lives in his heart and that he wants to go to heaven. When we were ordering our microwave at Home Depot he looked at the appliance associate and told him that Jesus was The Life. He has proudly announced in all manner of public places that Jesus is alive and lives in our hearts. The other day we gave him a Lego Bob the Builder truck that we bought with our Pampers gift to grow points and he walked down the hall with it and I heard him say, completely unprompted, "Dear God thank you for my new toy, it is the best!" He wakes up in the morning and exclaims, "God gave us a beautiful day!" He recognizes that EVERYTHING comes from God. He thanks God for every little thing he has. Oh, that I could have a heart that was so thankful and understanding of God's absolute provision and our absolute dependence.

On a cute note...Caleb was able to feel Savanna Zoe move in my belly for the first time the other night. He exclaimed excitedly, "she is kicking!" Then the next day during nap story time he said he wanted to tell his stuffed cookie monster about Jesus rather than read books. I said okay and he climbed into the rocking chair and sat there by himself and began to tell cookie monster that Jesus lives in our hearts and that heaven is a nice place and he wants to go there. He then said as he lifted his shirt, "Jesus lives in Caleb's heart; do you want to feel him kick?" I smiled and explained that Jesus doesn't live in our hearts the same way that Savanna Zoe lives in mommy's belly. Children are soo cute!

God bless you all,
Jade