Gospel Fruit
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This was wonderfully and visibly seen this Sunday afternoon. During the morning service, I read and preached through 2 Peter 3:1-13. In this passage, Peter discusses the historical reality of God destroying the whole world with water, only saving Noah and his family from destruction. Peter concludes by saying that the heavens and the earth will be dissolved by fire when the Lord returns to execute judgment on the unbelieving world.
We train our kids to participate in the service, so my six-year-old son was one of the hearers of this message. Like all Christian parents, sometimes we wonder if our kids are understanding.
I didn’t know this until my wife and I were debriefing before bed, but when we got home from the church service, our son sat on the chair contemplatively. Lauren asked him what he was thinking about. He said, “Mom, can fire burn anything?”
“If the fire’s hot enough it can,” said Lauren.
A short pause ensued. “Even metal?” he asked.
“Yes, if the fire’s hot enough.”
That was the end of the conversation.
After celebrating his birthday later in the day (almost a month late because his baby sister was born one day before his birthday, so we had to reschedule the get-together), he gathered all his presents and took them to his room. As he was getting ready for bed I asked him if he had a good day and if he was thankful. He said, “It was okay.” Then his face turned into a scowl. “But I wanted mom to make soup and not order pizza.”
“Mom can’t make a bunch of soup for a bunch of people after having a baby. Pizza made by someone else was the easiest option,” I responded.
“But I wanted soup,” he returned in defiance.
I told him his attitude was very selfish and that God wasn’t pleased with his selfishness. I asked him if he would rather have soup than a newborn baby. He said, “Yes.”
I told him again what a wicked thing he was doing in saying that.
All of the sudden, he began to cry. I reached out my arms to him and he came to me. We hugged and he said, “I don’t want to burn in the fire.” I was shocked and elated at the same time! My son had heard the gospel and was beginning to respond!
We discussed what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and I helped make the connection between God saving Noah through the ark from the flood and God saving his people through Christ from the coming fire. He confessed that he wanted to ask God to save him. He repeated a simple prayer after me: “God, please save me. Amen.” Immediately he corrected me: “Dad, you have to say ‘In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Some may have negative feelings about this exchange. Was my son getting his “fire insurance”? Was my son going through the motions? Was my son repeating the horribly unbiblical “sinner’s prayer” as his work of righteousness? (I know some people will think these things because I once did in my immaturity.) To these questions I say this: who else believes the gospel except the one who knows the punishment that is coming to them for their sins? My son began the lifelong journey of being a Christ-follower today. We pray that he will continue in the faith, grow in the knowledge of Christ, and learn to trust him more and more. We are very thankful.
So, don’t ever stop preaching and teaching the gospel to your children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbors. And don’t neglect to tell the truth of what we are being saved from: the wrath of the Almighty, the One True God. Amen.
We train our kids to participate in the service, so my six-year-old son was one of the hearers of this message. Like all Christian parents, sometimes we wonder if our kids are understanding.
I didn’t know this until my wife and I were debriefing before bed, but when we got home from the church service, our son sat on the chair contemplatively. Lauren asked him what he was thinking about. He said, “Mom, can fire burn anything?”
“If the fire’s hot enough it can,” said Lauren.
A short pause ensued. “Even metal?” he asked.
“Yes, if the fire’s hot enough.”
That was the end of the conversation.
After celebrating his birthday later in the day (almost a month late because his baby sister was born one day before his birthday, so we had to reschedule the get-together), he gathered all his presents and took them to his room. As he was getting ready for bed I asked him if he had a good day and if he was thankful. He said, “It was okay.” Then his face turned into a scowl. “But I wanted mom to make soup and not order pizza.”
“Mom can’t make a bunch of soup for a bunch of people after having a baby. Pizza made by someone else was the easiest option,” I responded.
“But I wanted soup,” he returned in defiance.
I told him his attitude was very selfish and that God wasn’t pleased with his selfishness. I asked him if he would rather have soup than a newborn baby. He said, “Yes.”
I told him again what a wicked thing he was doing in saying that.
All of the sudden, he began to cry. I reached out my arms to him and he came to me. We hugged and he said, “I don’t want to burn in the fire.” I was shocked and elated at the same time! My son had heard the gospel and was beginning to respond!
We discussed what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and I helped make the connection between God saving Noah through the ark from the flood and God saving his people through Christ from the coming fire. He confessed that he wanted to ask God to save him. He repeated a simple prayer after me: “God, please save me. Amen.” Immediately he corrected me: “Dad, you have to say ‘In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Some may have negative feelings about this exchange. Was my son getting his “fire insurance”? Was my son going through the motions? Was my son repeating the horribly unbiblical “sinner’s prayer” as his work of righteousness? (I know some people will think these things because I once did in my immaturity.) To these questions I say this: who else believes the gospel except the one who knows the punishment that is coming to them for their sins? My son began the lifelong journey of being a Christ-follower today. We pray that he will continue in the faith, grow in the knowledge of Christ, and learn to trust him more and more. We are very thankful.
So, don’t ever stop preaching and teaching the gospel to your children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbors. And don’t neglect to tell the truth of what we are being saved from: the wrath of the Almighty, the One True God. Amen.
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