Written by a CEF Chicago missionary
“And then God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.” The little girl’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “He does not die at this time!” I hastened to assure her. “Abraham knew that God would never call for a human sacrifice, so Abraham trusted that God would take care of Isaac—because Abraham knew who God was.”
The little girl’s lower lip worked overtime as she thought about this. “Our mom’s cousin passed away. And he really did die.”
I took a deep breath, praying for wisdom. “That’s true. Sometimes people die, but God loves them and you, and he’s always with you.”
She thought about this for a few more minutes, twisting a curl of hair around her finger. “Does that mean God dies?”
I had to jump to catch up with her reasoning. “You mean when you die eventually, because God is with you? Actually, if you have believed in Jesus to forgive your sins, then you get to go live with him in heaven, God’s forever home, where there’s no more death!”
She thought about this some more. “Ok, you can go on with the story. As long as Isaac is ok.”
As I recounted the story of Abraham’s faith in God and the Angel of the Lord (pre-incarnational Christ) showing Abraham the ram on Mount Moriah, I thanked God all over again for sending the Savior. “That’s why we don’t have to sacrifice lambs now!” I explained to the three little girls sitting on the rubber mat with me and my co-teachers. They whipped their foreheads in theatrical relief. “All the other lamb sacrifices covered sin, like when you hide your toys under your bed instead of cleaning your room. But Jesus, the perfect Lamb, CLEANED your sins—if you believe in him.”
The little girl with the big eyes and the wobbly lip responded to the Gospel invitation that afternoon. “I want Jesus to forgive my sins,” she said. After being asked a few questions to make sure she understood, this sweet seven-year-old prayed to God. “Heavenly Father, I want you to forgive my sins. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. Thank you for loving me. Please use me in big ways when I’m grown up and also while I’m seven years old.” She looked up at me. “When I was born, I was 24 weeks old and weighed one pound. The doctor didn’t think I’d live, so he asked God for a sign, and God made me able to breathe on my own. The doctor was confused but my mom told him God was with us.”
My heart melted as I looked into her beautiful brown eyes. “And now you’re not only in your mom’s family on earth, but you’re also God’s daughter. And he’ll never leave you.”
