When A Child Comes . . .

And Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.”

Carson praying 1Although I normally minister to adults, my own testimony begins as a child. When I was eight years old I knelt beside a bed with my grandmother and prayed to receive Jesus into my heart. It was very real to me, and from that time on, the foundation for my life became rooted in Jesus. When I go back and look at memorabilia of my childhood and youth, I find the thread of that decision weaving through everything. God was my anchor and lead me through life—I may have followed imperfectly at times—but He was always there to keep my foot from slipping too far off the path He had chosen for me.

Because this is my testimony, I know Jesus does indeed love little children. And when a child comes to Him at a young age, I know that child will have an anchor to hold onto throughout life. With this as my experience, my new children’s book, The Bunny Side of Easter, brings me back full circle to when I began my own Christian walk.

While the book is a fun adventure story about how the Easter bunny came to be, it carries deeper undertones—hints of allegory—that I pray will point children to Jesus.

God wants children to come to Him at an early age so He can guide them, lead them and undergird them with His love and strength when they encounter trials and hardships.

He wants to grow them strong in Him and sharpen their understanding about the power of prayer as they face both the common and uncommon problems in life.

God wants to be with them through life so they can become all that He created them to be

 “Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Luke 18:16)

Yes, Jesus said to bring the little children, but for some of us, we wonder . . . when a child comes, what do we do?  It is sometimes difficult for us as adults to know how to broach the subject with young children and lead them to a decision for Christ. Can children truly understand what Jesus did for them on the cross?  If they make a decision, is it sincere and real?

As young as I was when I received Jesus as my Savior, I still remember how meaningful that decision was for me at the age of eight. I was excited about it and told my friends about “giving my heart to Jesus.” I even recall engaging in a debate with an unchurched friend about what it meant.  Because of my own experience, I know that a child’s heart is ready to receive Jesus as his or her savior and that a lack of intellectual maturity does not negate a child’s spiritual readiness for God.

As Keith Miller said in his book, The Taste of New Wine, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we give as much of ourselves as we can to as much of God as we understand.

Starting a Conversation

Even knowing this, we may still flounder around as we search for a creative and meaningful way to actually lead children into a deep discussion about God so they can appreciate the significance of asking Jesus to be their savior?

One of my hopes for my children’s Easter book, The Bunny Side of Easter, is that this fun adventure story with hints of allegory will point children to what Jesus did on the cross and open up a deeper discussion with parents and teachers. I want this book to be more than an entertaining and exciting story.  I want children to get a glimpse of what Easter really means—about the new life Jesus gave us when He offered Himself up on the cross. My website, bunnysideofeaster.com includes a discussion guide as well as a child-focused testimony and explanation of what Jesus did for us at Easter and a sample prayer that a child can pray to receive Christ.

It is my earnest hope and prayer that The Bunny Side of Easter will open the door to a deeper conversation with many children to help them understand what Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross meant for them. For when a child comes to Him, Jesus will receive him or her with open arms and stay with him throughout life.

You can see more about The Bunny Side of Easter at http://www.bunnysideofeaster.com

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