Those of you who follow my blog know that I have been trying to take advantage of opportunites to teach Kid-Friendly Theology to my girls — Maggie (5) and Ella (3).  Seeing Passion Week as one of those opportunites, I decided to create a Gospel Bridge in our family room using painter’s tape.  Ray and I used the illustration to show the Girls how our sin separates us from God. 

The space between us and Him is too far for anyone to cross alone.  To illustrate this, we allowed the girls to do their best to jump from one side to the other.

(Note to self:  Put these lines FAR apart!  We accidentally got the lines a little too close, and Maggie came very close to making it across a couple of times.  I jokingly suggested to Ray that this could have scarred her understanding of the Gospel for life……

The Girls tried unsuccessfully to hop, jump, dive, and even cheat across by shimming along the couch. 

So how can we ever get to God? 

Maggie was stumped.  She literally sat in the middle of the blue-taped “sin” trying to come up with an answer.  Meanwhile, our 3 year old Ella quietly brought me a paper cross she had colored in Sunday School which said “Jesus Loves Me!”  She handed it to me and answered my question. 

“Jesus.”

Shortly after this, things started to unwind quickly into tired crankiness. 

(Note to self:  Begin EARLIER next time.)

On Friday, we made Wordless Books out of construction paper and talked with the Girls about what each of the colors mean. 

Maggie

Black — sin

Red — Christ’s death for our sin

White — our clean, forgiven heart after trusting in Christ’s death for forgiveness

Blue — Heaven; eternity with God

Green — continued spiritual growth

Ella (front) and her friend Mckinley

That evening we took Maggie with us to our church’s Good Friday service.  Everyone wore black and moved quietly through stations set up to help us reflect on various aspects of Christ’s death.  

At one station we each picked up a large nail as we considered the gravity of our sin which nailed Christ to the cross.  We viewed film clips and classic paintings of Jesus’ death as they played on the walls around us.  The room was silent except for the occassional sound from the video clips of hammered nails and crying onlookers. 

Then we entered the backstage area.  It was mostly dark except for the many candles burning around us.  Different sins had been graffiti-ed on the wall in front of us. 

Selfishness…  Anxiety…  Lust…  Gossip…

We knelt down by a low table to write some of our own sins on a small card which we then nailed to a large cross in the room.  Maggie wrote on her card “Dhisobey my Mom and Dad.”

Then we stepped out from backstage area onto the platform in the main auditorium  where a table had been prepared for us to receive communion.  It was a powerful service which lingered with me throughout the entire weekend.

On Saturday at dinner, Maggie announced to us.  “I prayed to ask Jesus into my heart this afternoon.” 

“You did?” Ray and I listened intently.

We learned that Maggie — apparently still considering the Good Friday service – had been flipping through her Children’s Bible bookmarking each of the pictures which related to Jesus death.  As she looked at the pictures, she decided that she wanted to pray to ask Him into her heart.

I LOVE how this happened on her own.  I mean it would have been wonderful for it to have happened with one of us, but the way it unfolded made me think of Jesus sitting there on the bed with her and calling her to place her trust in Him as she flipped the pages and studied the pictures. 

Ray and I talked with her to make sure that she understood what she had done, and we  believe that she did.  As best as she can right now.  I trust that the Spirit will continue to call her to deeper levels of understanding and faith as she grows older.

All in all, Passion Week led up to an amazing time of worship yesterday as we celebrated our Savior who died and ROSE from the dead! 

Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.  What a beautiful picture!