His Mustard Seed

I have been burdened for a long time. My oldest child no longer believes me when I say that pigs fly. Huh? You might ask. Well, when kids are real young, you can pretty much tell them anything and they believe you simply because you say it. Mom and Dad know EVERYTHING and would never steer you wrong. Well, my 7 year old son is slowly growing out of that stage. He no longer simply believes me when I say something. Everything is evaluated, weighed, and he decides if he will accept it as truth.

Isaac is very black and white. He has a scientific mind, loving to prove everything. He wants to understand it, tear it apart and put it back together again. And so he sometimes is frustrated with the Bible and it's truths. How does he know it's true? He has never seen the cross, how can he prove it existed? How can he know for sure Jesus died there and on the third day came back to life?

And yet, if you sit and have a conversation with Isaac about Bible stories, or ask him to recite verses, he can tell you word for word what the story or passage is about. He can relay them with such conviction, you're certain he believes. His eyes light up as he talks about Jesus coming again and us meeting Him in the air. But when you ask him if he trusts Jesus, he gets very emotional saying he wants to, but he can't.

I realized what was blocking it: he was trying to prove it. The Bible tells us to come with child-like faith. We're told to trust God, to believe. Do you have to understand how Jesus took our punishment on the cross and made us acceptable for God's Heaven? NO! Do you have to prove God's love or saving power? NO! We simply believe. We simply trust. We simply have faith. Faith as small as a mustard seed. A mustard seed is very small, and yet it grows into a very large plant that provides shelter and food. Tonight I told Isaac about how our faith grows. It may start out small like a mustard seed and yet over time as we spend time with God, that faith grows bigger and bigger. I also encouraged him to pray that God would give him that faith. And here is a paraphrase of what he prayed:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. I pray, Lord, that you would give me a little bit of faith so I can go to heaven when I die and see your face. Help me to trust in You...." When he finished, he looked visably relieved and happy. I don't believe you have to ask Jesus into your heart to be saved, but the Bible says we have to believe.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Acts 16:31

Tonight I walked out of Isaac's room feeling a burden lift off my shoulders, I've been praying for him for a long time, begging that he would be one of God's chosen. And maybe tonight he was given a little bit of faith. A mustard seed.

And one more thing, I don't want Isaac to go through life 'believing' in Jesus just because his parents do. I want him to know beyond a shadow of a doubt what he believes is true. And so, I am glad that he is picking this apart now when he's 7 than later when he's 17. He may not believe everything I say anymore, but I do still have bit of influence.