Super Sunday (for Caroline)

But not for the reasons you might think...

Today in church I looked and saw our daughter Caroline raising her hands during the singing portion of worship.  Now this shouldn't be a surprise since both Julie and I will raise our hands in praise of our God when we are worshiping, both at church and at home.  But Caroline, who is 5, is not yet a "believer" in Jesus, in that she has not yet understood enough to profess for herself what salvation in Jesus Christ means.

For the past year now both Julie and I have been reading bible stories to her, talking about faith in Jesus, answering questions she might have, and asking her questions to see if the Truth is sinking in and sticking.  Caroline has done a great job listening and learning the different stories.  Also, she is connecting the different Old Testament stories of Jonah and Abraham to Jesus and what His call to "Follow Me" means to us today in 2012.

Well, today after church I asked Caroline why she was raising her hands and she said
"Because I love Jesus and  want to ask Him into my heart."   I began asking her questions:  (my questions and her answers in quotes)

• Why do you love Jesus? - "Because he died on the cross for me."
• Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? - "Jesus died on the cross to forgive me for my sins."
• What does a person who wants to follow Jesus have to be willing to do? - "To tell the world about Jesus and his love."
• What else might a person be asked to do when following Jesus? - "Some hard things like Jonah going to Ninevah when he didn't want to."
• As a follower of Jesus, what happens when you die? - "I get to go to heaven and be with Jesus forever."
• Are you afraid to die for Jesus if he asked you to do that? - "Nope!"

I went and got Julie.  She asked a couple of questions and agreed Caroline was ready.  So we got her older brothers, David and Jonathan, who have already accepted Christ and were baptized last May, and invited her younger brother Zeke who has not yet prayed to accept Jesus, and together as a family, we led Caroline in a prayer repenting of her sins and inviting Jesus into her heart.  Then we as a family all prayed a blessing/prayer over her and her decision.  

So yes, today is a Super Sunday, but not because of any football game.  A much more eternal event took place, something we have been praying about and working toward since before Caroline was born.  Thank you Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit for teaching our children through your Word and hearing our prayers.