Theology 101....from a 5 Year Old

by Julie Jordan Scott

My five year old daughter Kathie and I sat in church on Palm Sunday. Kathie loves going to church, and once we get down to the business of the sermon, I always give her the option of going to play in the nursery or staying to listen. Surprisingly enough, she often chooses to stay and listen to our pastor's message.

Today he was speaking of the juxtaposition of the jubilant celebration of Palm Sunday with the gritty reality of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Our eloquent pastor dramatically spoke of the turn of events that Jesus would expect to happen during Holy Week. Kathie listened carefully, nodding in agreement with the pastor, and shaking her head at the especially tragic parts. She looked over and whispered to me, with her big blue eyes like saucers saying, "He didn't want to do it, but he had to." She looked down at her hands folded in her lap and sighed. "It wasn't even fun." She shook her head at the grief of her Lord dying on the cross so that she, little five year old Kathie, could live forever.

Her words reverberated in my head. "He didn't want to do it, but he had to....it wasn't even fun." It was amazing how Christ's sacrifice for his children could be put into such simple terms so that any preschooler could relate to what Jesus did for each and every one of us. Jesus clearly adored little children, and he said that to come into heaven, we would all need to be childlike. In human form, Jesus grieved the fact that he would bear the physical pain and horror of the crucifiction even knowing full well that this was part of the plan from His Father. Jesus did not go gleefully or lightheartedly to the cross, but instead with a sense of responsibility and a fulfillment of His purpose on earth.

Even with all of the teachings of the great theologians in both the present and in history, I don't think any could make it any clearer than my precious gift from God, my beloved daughter Katherine Hannah. "He didn't want to do it, but he had to....it wasn't even fun."