After the Bible lesson in our Good News Club each week, we have an “invitation” time, where any children with questions about the lesson can speak to a teacher one-on-one. After a lesson on Cain and Abel, 4th grader R had some serious questions. He just couldn’t understand how one brother could be so angry as to kill his own brother!
As we talked about sin I asked if any one of us could say we are perfect, without sin, never having disappointed anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings or broken a rule. Maybe we haven’t murdered our own brother, but… R said, “No! We’ve all sinned. I know I’ve done wrong things!”
He asked several more questions about forgiveness, Christ’s dying on the cross in our place, and that all we need to do is believe that He did that for us personally. With joy all over his face Rex said, “That’s it?! That’s all I have to do?!” I showed him Acts 16:31 and how “believ(ing) on the Lord Jesus Christ” is all that’s necessary to be saved.
Just at that moment another student interrupted to ask a completely irrelevant question! I was so sure this would throw off R, and he would lose focus. I quickly answered the other student, and turned back to R. To my surprise, he was quietly praying on his own.
After a minute or so, he looked at me and said, “So, now I’m saved?”
I said, “If you believe Jesus died for your sins, and is the only way to get to heaven. Is that what you were praying about?”
He grinned and nodded, and was so excited; it was absolutely contagious! I grinned right along with him, and told him that we were brother and sister now. He asked if that meant that if some little old lady who passes by on the street is also saved that she would be his sister too, and then laughed in delight!