Kingdom Come

This morning at church my Sunday school class (ages 2-5) and I were learning about Easter, and we went off on a little tangent about who can enter the Kingdom of God. We were talking about the verse in which Jesus says you have to be like a little child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Me: What makes a little kid different than a grown up?
Them: uuuuhhhhh???? (no answer)
Me: Do little kids have jobs? Do you have to have a job to get into the kingdom of Heaven?
Them: No. Kids don't have jobs.
Terrianna: Grown ups wear make-up!
Me: Do you have to wear make-up to get into the kingdom of God?
Them: no!
Mandie: Grown ups are married!
Me: Do you have to be married to get into the Kingdom of God?
Them: no!
Curly (this is what they call him, don't know why): They drive cars!
Me: Do you have to drive a car to get into the Kingdom of Heaven?
Them: No!

They said some more things, that I can't remember. It was so funny to hear what they thought the difference between kids and grown ups are. The end of our little tangent went like this:

Me: So what do you have to do to enter God's Kingdom?
Them: you have to be good!
Me: well, it is important to be good! but can we be good all the time? sometimes we do things that aren't good, but we can still go to Heaven to be with Jesus. So what do we have to do?

They did not know the answer to this question. A few gave some answers, but no one really got it.

Me: Ok, I'll tell you. To get into God's Kingdom, you have to believe in Jesus. You have to believe that he came to earth and died for us . . . and then He rose again! He became alive again after he died, so that we can live again after we die! And that is when we go to Heaven, we live there after we have died.

AND

we have to obey Jesus. When we obey Him, we are loving Him.

So to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must believe in Jesus, and obey Jesus!


I made them repeat believe and obey a few times out loud. But now, I am here wondering if they really got the message. Do they understand what it means to believe and obey Jesus? Do they know the difference between right and wrong. Most of these kids come to City Church on a van that we send out. Their parents aren't here. Their parents may not believe in Jesus. Their parents are probably teaching them a version of 'right' and 'wrong' that I would not agree with. I hope they got it. I hope the Lord continues to work in their hearts until they come to the end of themselves, and find a new hope and a better life in Him. I hope they know that Jesus will love them where they are. And He will love their parents where they are.

I have the same hopes for my own children. That the Lord will guide and direct their journey, provide them with water for the seed He planted in their hearts. Bring them to a place where they realize that life without Jesus is such a stupid waste of time and effort. That they would surrender their lives to Him, and begin an exciting journey, a life of intensity, purpose, love, and sacrifice. And most of all, that they would know that living for Jesus has nothing to do with wearing make-up, being married, driving a car, getting a great job, having the 'right' friends, being accepted by the world, or any other silly thing that we grown-ups get so easily entangled in.

To live for Jesus, you believe and obey.