Two Purposes for Life

"Did God die on the cross?"

This was the abrupt question from my three-year-old son recently, as I sat at the breakfast table with my children. Pleasantly surprised by the question, I took a minute to thank the Lord, since I have been eagerly waiting for Noah to show some interest in the cross and salvation. In my pause, my five-year-old Hannah beat me in answering.

"Yes, Jesus died on the cross for our sins."

I took a breath, about to pick up where she had left off...

"And because of that, we can have our sins forgiven and go to heaven someday. Do you have sins, Noah?"

I looked back at Noah, who was soaking up his sister's words. I was impressed. I'm not commonly sure that Noah hears a word I say.

"No, I don't have any sins." he replied, looking a little confused, as if he wasn't sure this was correct, but rather that he thought it was the right answer. He knew he SHOULDN'T have sins, even though he was pretty sure he did.

"Oh, yes, you do!" Hannah said in a cheerful tone, the excitement of her year-and-a-half as a follower of Christ spilling over in her expression.

"Oh." Noah smiled, glad that Hannah had answered for him.

I waited, wondering if the moment was over and we had lost dear Noah to thoughts of airplanes or the pool or the bug crawling on the wall. But Hannah wasn't finished with him yet.

"Would you like to ask God to forgive your sins so you can go to heaven?" she invited. I almost expected her to break forth in a rousing rendition of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus."

"Yeah." Noah said. "And I like to fly the airplane in the backyard."

I saw Hannah's face fall a little bit, and she returned to eating her breakfast, sensing that she had lost her brother's attention.

"He's still little." I reminded her. "You're doing a good job telling others about Jesus, just like the Bible tells us."

"Yeah." she agreed. "But mom, I feel sad for the people who don't believe in Jesus when they die."


I nod, sighing. "Me too."

What I would give for such an uncomplicated version of a heart dedicated to the Great Commission. There are no obstacles for her that I let come into my heart, like "Now isn't the right time" or "I don't know what to say" or "When they ask I'll know it's time to say something." She just speaks from a heart overflowing with love for her Savior.

I know there have been and will always be times when the Spirit speaks through me and uses me to share His wonderful story. But my daughter's simple attitude convicts me that those times should come more often. That I should worry less about the mechanics of sharing the major points of theology and just live and breathe the One I love, the One who is coming, the One who is the answer to any problem this life will inevitably bring around.

After all, I'm here for a reason, and it isn't to have a nice house and fill it with nice things and have all my needs and wants met. God wouldn't have left us here for this time if there weren't a specific purpose in all the hard times we face throughout our earthly sojourning. There are two, and only two, ultimate purposes for life.

ACCEPT CHRIST.

TELL OTHERS.