Christ - Indwelling

I know Bible metaphors are sometimes lost on children, but I temporarily forgot the day my 3-year-old volunteered during lunch, "I got Jesus in my heart."

"That's great," I replied. "It makes me happy to know you love Jesus like Daddy and I do."

He took a few more bites of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich before asking, "Does Daddy got Jesus in his heart?"

"Of course he does."

"I thought so"

A cloud passed over his normally cheerful face. He climbed off the chair and came over to my side, looked in my face and said, "I wish Jesus was in your heart, too."

What had I done or said to make him think I wasn't a Christian? I ran down a mental checklist of possible transgressions. Had I scolded him unjustly or yelled at him or ignored his needs? Nothing came to mind.

Trying to sound as natural as possible I asked, "Why do you think Jesus isn't in my heart?"

His big brown eyes shifted to my abdomen, then in the eighth month of pregnancy.

"Well, Mom," he said, "that baby's getting so big there's no room for anyone else in there."

-Marilyn June Bader, Christian Herald