I Want Kindergarten Faith

Recently my son went to play at a friend’s house. One of the first play-dates he had ever had without one of his parents going along. His friend’s mother told us a very cool story the next day. It seems that while the boys were playing a video game together, my son equated something that happened in the game with the story of David and Goliath. Upon vocalizing this epiphany, his friend asked, “who is David and Goliath?” His friend’s father was sitting in another room overhearing the conversation and was quite embarrassed that his elementary aged son did not know the story of David and Goliath. That night, he got the Bible out and read the story of David and Goliath to the entire family. I was so proud of my son for talking about something from the Bible with one of his friends, but then realized that for my son, it was just a normal, unconscious thing to do - natural even. That does not diminish my pride in him, but made me think, I wish I were more like a kindergartner.

We, as adults, for whatever reason, shy away from Biblical conversations and discussions. Kindergarteners don’t sense any awkwardness or nerves; they just blurt it out as it is engrained in their culture if they’re being brought up in a foundationally Christian home. The coolest part of the story was that my son’s small vocalization led to a family sitting down together to read the Bible. God can use the smallest of events and people to make a large impact for him. Jesus says in Mark 10:15-16, “’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.” Our faith is not complicated, our mission is simple, yet as grown-ups, we make it more complicated and bog ourselves down with periphery theological issues or relational complications. It may sound elementary, but I want to be more like my son. Living in ignorant fearlessness for Christ, being so wrapped in a relationship with Him that it is natural to speak of Him and live for Him in all of the relationships and settings I find myself in.

-Pastor Adam