Good Friday

Caroline has said out of the blue a couple of times recently, "I love God." Today she asked Jeff and me if we loved God. I said yes and Jeff said yes and then she asked Jeff "how much?" After he said, "very much," she replied with, "not as much as he loves you!"

She was in the backseat of the car drawing on a piece of paper when she started this conversation. She asked me, "What does a cross look like?" I pointed in the direction of (funny enough) a huge cross in the distance (in front of some kind of outreach center, I think). After drawing for a little bit she said, "I drew Jesus on the cross, see?"

I looked back to see her drawing of Jesus on the cross, as well as her version of a hand and a foot (separate from the cross drawing). She had the words to a song in her head, one that we sing at church and also have on CD--"a crown of thorns, pierced hands and feet [thus, the hand and foot], a body bruised, and mercy's plea." She had "written" the words to the song on the page as well.

She asked me, "what are thorns?"

I explained and so she added the crown of thorns to the picture. She asked why the men who put that crown on Jesus' head wanted to poke him, along with a few more questions relating to Jesus' beating and trial. "Why did the men want to hurt Jesus? Did Jesus know their names who hit him? Did he know that man's name who was standing on the stage (Pilate, depicted in her Bible on-stage before the crowd)?"

Then she asked, "What does 'mercy's plea' mean? Wow, I was thinking--deep stuff for a four-year-old . . . Jeff and I explained in a kind of tag-team fashion.

This is just one example of conversations we have been having almost weekly around here. A few weeks ago, Caroline said to me in a very sensitive, somewhat sad tone, "I wish they could have just kept killing lambs for sins and not have to kill Jesus."

Statements like this coming from her take me aback a bit at first, so I think for a minute and try to come up with an equally sensitive response. It's just so amazing to observe the Holy Spirit's working on such a little heart. I am truly thankful for our new church and the great teaching and music (which Caroline is just soaking up). I also really appreciate the illustrations and writing in Caroline's Big Picture Story Bible. Jeff and I have commented before that some of the text is probably too much for a little one to grasp (even referring specifically to the OT part concerning lambs and sacrifice), but apparently it is sinking in!