Sometimes what seems to a parent like a clear explanation of a spiritual truth is not so clear to a child. When my son, Jeff, was around 4 years old, I overheard him and his friends discussing what happens when you die.
They had trouble agreeing on what really happens until Jeff spoke up with great authority and carefully explained that, when you die, they cut off your head and bury your body in the ground. The children were all amazed but seemed satisfied with this new understanding of death.
When Jeff came inside I asked him where he got such an idea. His answer? “That’s exactly what you told me, Mother. You said, when you die, only your body dies, and they just bury your body; the rest of you doesn’t die.” It was obvious to this 4-year-old that the head was the part that continued to live without the body.
—-Norma Champion
On frequent occasions, a lady I was counseling brought along her 3-year-old son, Steven. The nursery was a convenient place for us to talk, as we could watch him through the window. We both marveled at his patience while he sat playing with his little cars on a bench just outside the door.
However, one day Steven and his mother arrived at the church ahead of me. When I got out of the car he grabbed my hand and held it tightly all the way to the nursery.
He pulled me in quickly and shut the door, leaving his mother outside. After setting up two chairs facing each other, he sat on one and announced, “Now, let’s talk!”
–Hazel Grace Thompson
One man inquired, “What color are your pastor’s eyes?”
The person answered, “I don’t know–when he prays he shuts his eyes and when he preaches I shut mine.”
–Tal D. Bonham
