Moved by the Spirit?

Ahhh, Will. How I delight in my very...special...child.

Will's newest antecdote began at church on Sunday morning. Will would normally go to kids' praise during the sermon, but we had decided that we wanted him to stay with us and sit through the sermon for a while and see how he did. So we packed a bag with legos, colors, and other quietly amusing items in the hopes that he would learn to sit through a sermon.

It turned out the sermon was about Jesus' parable of the seeds. This, we though, was great because Will is really intrigued by natural science and has recently taken a great interest particularly in seeds and plants. As soon as he heard Eddie, our preacher, begin to talk about seeds and what kind of soil they would flourish in, I saw his ears perk up, and my five-year-old was more intensely focused on the sermon that even most adults might have been. He listened attentively as Eddie talked about where seeds fall, rocky soil, and weeds, and what that all meant. He then began to read from the bible to the congregation. He read from Mark 4, and when he got to verse 9, he placed special emphasis on Jesus' words.

"He who has ears," he began, then paused, smiling at the congregation. "He who has ears? Who has ears?" He paused and then continued. "He who has ears let him hear!"

At that moment, my son, who had become so wrapped up in the sermon that he apparently felt that Eddie was speaking only to him, excitedly informed the entire congregation:

"We ALL have ears!"

Oh, my.

Yes, it was very funny. And I would be lying if I said I was upset with him, because I wasn't. After all, Jesus said that we must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven, and Will showed us all that day what the enthusiasm of a child can feel like when listening to stories about Jesus. I know that Jesus would have been pleased to hear my son answer Eddie's question so loudly and firmly, so how could I be upset at him? No one else was. It was cute, but it was also really special. And even though afterwards we explained to him that sometimes when a preacher asks a question, he doesn't necessarily want an answer outloud, sometimes he wants us to answer it in our heads, we also told him that he wasn't in trouble and that we were proud he was so interested in what Eddie was saying.

I was worried that he wouldn't learn anything in the auditorium with us, but I think he did. And more importantly, he taught me something: that becoming like a child in Christ is real, and Jesus knew that when he set the example, bidding the children to come unto him. He wanted us all to know and to remember each time we saw a child delight in the wonders of Him that full-hearted faith and undeniable excitement are attainable for us all.