Ben is our warrior. He's been a fighter most of his life and was actually born into the world in a pretty dramatic and life threatening fashion. Since then, his young life has been a series of battles - all of which he has won. In fact, he has a plaque hanging outside of his bedroom door as testament to the strength God has given him. It reads, "For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a"
In this picture you'll find Beets at the age of 4 with his beanbag hand grenade and his dusting rifle equipped with a pirate sword bayonet. This is what woke me up by busting through my bedroom door well before my alarm went off that morning. But never fear, I was informed that my bedroom had been swept and was clear.
Ironically, Benjamin is also extremely tenderhearted. In our family, each member prays before we eat dinner. (With 8 people to make the rounds, I don't even put the food on the table until we're done praying so that it stays warm.) Benjamin's prayers usually go something like this:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for this food. Thank you for our family. Dear Jesus help the bad guys to find the right path and help their hearts turn to you. Help those who hate you to love you. And help us to do the right thing too. And help me to be good and love you too.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
To be clear, our family doesn't use the terms "bad guys," "right path," or "turn to you" when we pray. And yet somewhere in his short life, he has come across these terms and incorporated them into his prayers. He sounds more like a 20 year old than a newly minted 6 year old, but his heart is very much in the right place and he means every word he says.
However, we must not forget that Ben is a warrior...and apparently a liar. He's a smiling liar so we didn't catch him very early in life - until one day about a week ago. I'll spare you the details, but upon being caught lying, he doubled down and lied again. Unfortunately, he didn't get to witness what happens to older brothers and sisters who lie, so he wasn't exactly certain what would come his way. He was disciplined in love and I believe the message was heard loud and clear. We do not lie in this family and if we do, there are consequences.
Later that night after I sang to him and tucked him in, I explained to Beets that when we love Jesus, we have to confess our sins and ask God to forgive us. Confessing was admitting out loud what he did and why it was wrong and then asking Jesus out loud to forgive him and help him not to do it again. I also explained that God already knew what he did wrong and when he talked to God about his sin, I wasn't going to intervene and give him more discipline. His words to God were between him and God and not me.
Ben started to cry. He didn't want to admit his sin out loud. But I insisted. And I also made sure he understood that when we ask God to forgive us, it demonstrates that we are sorry. Sorry means that we wished we hadn't done it in the first place and we never want to do it again. He did as he was instructed through tears and then said in a moment of revelation, "Mama, I am the bad guys I pray for."
That sentence brought tears to my eyes! Yes, Ben! Yes you are. We are all sinful. We are all broken. We all need a savior. But that isn't the end, it is the beginning. You see, when we know that we are the bad guys and we repent of our wicked ways and ask God to forgive us and allow Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, then we are saved! At that point, we are a new creation! We don't stay bad guys, Jesus makes us new!
Hallelujah! What joy there is when a child recognizes his sin and understands his need for the Savior. Benjamin, we are not condemned to a life of sin and death. Through Jesus we are free and get to live with Him for eternity.
"From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'" - Matthew 4:17
