For the last year
or so Levi has been telling us that he wants to be baptized, but when we would
sit down to talk to him about what it means, we never felt he really understood
enough. But we kept talking about it. A lot. (It tends to be a topic that we
talk about at our house often.)
Even last week,
while studying our Bible lesson during homeschool, Levi brought up the topic
again. Clay happened to be home, so I sent Levi to talk to him. Again, we didn’t
feel he quite grasped the significance of how our sin separates us from God.
Sunday night, Levi
got in trouble for his misbehavior. Specifically, we told him that his actions
were a direct result of his anger towards his brother, and that was sin.
We didn’t think
much more of the incident. It was kind of a typical evening…until Levi
approached me, sobbing, and he told me, “I don’t deserve to go to heaven!” It
took me a minute to understand what he was talking about. Levi said, “Because
of what I did…I don’t deserve to go to heaven!”
“I agree with you,”
I told him. “You don’t deserve to go to heaven because you are a sinner. But
you know what? I don’t deserve to go to heaven either, because I’m a sinner.”
Levi looked at me
a little surprised, but kept sobbing uncontrollably.
I reminded him of
the lesson from our Bible study group from the week before. “No one is
righteous. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But…while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He gave His one and only son, who died on
the cross, and he promises that if you believe in Him, you can have eternal
life. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you and
cleanse you from all unrighteousness!”
“I want to be
saved,” Levi muttered through his tears.
“Do you want to
ask Jesus to forgive you?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
And so, I was
given the blessing of listening to my son pray and ask Jesus to forgive him of
his sins. He repeated the ABCs of Salvation that is taught in the VBS
curriculum…admit that you’re a sinner, believe that Christ died for you, and
confess that Jesus is Lord.
All of this was
repeated through tears, and occasionally he was overcome with sobs. But after
praying, he felt a peace that passes all understanding.
For me, it was
heartbreaking to listen to him sob as he realized the gravity of his sins. But,
it was joy to listen to him confess Jesus as Lord. And it was a reminder to me…when
was the last time that I sobbed over my own sin? When was I heartbroken over
the thought that my sin separates me from Jesus?
“For godly grief produces a repentance that
leads
to salvation without regret,
whereas worldly grief produces death.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
