Interesting Conversation

Last night during Vertical Worship (our once a month Sunday night service) I was in the nursery with Abigail and about 14 other little kids and 5 other adults while Glenn was in the service with our oldest 3. I had gathered from something that David Whiting (our pastor) said at the end of the service that the Day of Silence was going to be discussed a little bit during Vertical Worship but hadn't really thought that my kids would pay attention but they did, at least Caleb did.

This morning just before lunch Caleb asked, "Mommy, what is a homosexual?" Oh boy... what do I say? I told him it was time for lunch and we'd talk about it later. After lunch Caleb said, "Mommy, I asked you a question before and you didn't answer it. What is a homosexual?" So I dropped everything, sat down with him in a chair and we started to talk. I had no idea what was discussed last night but he told me a story that was told last night about a church that had found out that a group of homosexuals were going to picket them so they set out coffee and donuts to be a blessing to the picketers. He said that the next week another church from the area after hearing how they had left coffee and donuts outside for the homosexual picketers decided to picket that church to show their disapproval. Oh, it makes me sick, why does the church behave like that??

We had a really good talk. We talked about what made up our family: a daddy, a mommy, and kids. We talked about how in our family the daddy and mommy are married which is God's plan and how God started marriage with Adam and Eve. He knows of couples who live together but aren't married and knows that that is not God's plan, that it is sin and I told him how homosexuals are people who have relationships that are men with men or women with women which is not God's plan.

I asked Caleb who Jesus hung out with and what Jesus did about sinners. We talked about how He didn't hang out with the religious people like the Pharisees. The Pharisees complained that He ate with tax collectors and sinners. Who needs a doctor - a healthy person or a sick person? A sick person. The Pharisees thought they were fine but the "sinners" realized that they needed a Saviour. Then we got talking about sin. I asked Caleb which he thought was a worse sin in God's eyes: killing someone or snitching an extra piece of chocolate when you were only supposed to take one? He was silent for a minute then said, "Mommy, that is a hard question." More silence. "I think maybe killing someone." I told him no... sin is sin. God sees them as exactly the same. He looked at me and I could tell he was trying to come up with something then he said, "Like that verse, 'Whoever keeps the whole Law and stumbles in just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.'" Right! In God's eyes, sin is sin. In our eyes we think that snitching a piece of chocolate, stretching the truth, going a couple miles over the speed limit are not bad because everyone does it but killing someone is really bad because you would go to jail. We talked about how we all sin and make wrong choices, even if we are Christians and that is why we need Jesus.

I was really nervous going into this discussion. What do I say? How do I talk about this with my 7 year old? (and with his 5, 4, and 2 year old sisters hanging around.) but it was great. What an opportunity! Thank you God for this opportunity to share with my kids more about You and their need for You. Thank You also for the reminder of the seriousness of our sin in Your eyes. Please help us to take our sin seriously as well. Thank You for Jesus and forgiving me for my sin.

PS. I just read this to Caleb and he wanted me to add "I told you the story of the man that told the rich man to sit in a good seat and there was a poor man and he told him to sit at his feet." It was another part of our conversation. I am not sure where it fit in but he thought it was important so I am adding it. :) I am so excited to see how God is growing my boy!