"Mom, I don't want to live with God when I die." I could hear the uncertainty in my four-year-old's voice as she spoke. Her older brother has been asking a lot of questions lately about God, heaven, and theology in general, so she has overheard a lot and understood little. Who is this strange God that we're supposed to go live with someday- someone we've never seen...?
"It's ok to feel that way," I told her gently, "But, the Bible says that God wants to make you a princess! God wants you to come live with Him (Ephesians 1:3-14), and help Him rule over the world after He fixes all the bad things (2 Timothy 2:1-13, Revelation 21:1-8). Isn't that exciting?!" I watched as her face slowly changed- her furrowed brow dissolved, and her countenance lit up with excitement and anticipation.
"I get to be a princess?!" She asked with excitement.
"Yes, you do! If you believe that Jesus saved you from your sins and the punishment you deserve; and, if you make Him king of your life and try your best to obey His rules, you will get to be a princess one day."
"I can't wait to tell everybody that I'm going to be a princess!!!"
The sincerity and the excitement were beautiful to witness. All fear and uncertainty were gone, and her enthusiasm was so overwhelming that she wanted to share it with everyone else, too. Maybe that trust and enthusiasm are the reason why Jesus speaks so often of coming with the faith of a child; their excitement is contagious, and so completely perfect. There isn't apprehension or doubt, or stopping to calculate the risks; just the open acceptance of a beautiful truth.
A lot of times, it seems like we adults are the short-sighted ones. We see the rules and the sacrifices we have to make that are in contradiction with our sin nature. We often fail to see beyond the temporary hardships to the future glory that awaits us. My daughter will learn that living for Christ isn't always easy, but if she strives to do so she will not be disappointed. For now, in her simplistic, naive little understanding of the world, all she wants is to be a princess.
Maybe all of us long for that in one form or another. Maybe, if more people knew about the inheritance that awaits those who trust in Jesus' sacrifice of love for us, the present worldly darkness wouldn't seem so bad... Do you want to be a prince/princess?
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