The angels rejoiced and so did we

I never dreamed that August 6, 2009 would become one of the most important days of my life, but it has! You see Christian and I have been talking about what it means to be a "christian" for weeks now. He heard the word "Christian" on the radio a few weeks ago and thought that they were talking about him. So I explained what it meant to be a Christian. I told him that I'm a Christian because I believe in Jesus. I believe he died on the cross to forgive me of my sins. I believe that having faith in Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. And we've talked a lot about how we call it "Asking Jesus to come into your heart" when you pray and tell Jesus that you believe in Him, etc.

Christian knows that he has a "sin problem." He knows that we all do and that the only way to get rid of our sin is to ask Jesus to forgive us of our sin. We've been asking Jesus to forgive us of our sin at bedtime for about a year now. Some nights Christian has something that he wants to tell Jesus he's sorry for and other nights he doesn't have much to say. Some nights he likes to tell me everything that everyone else did wrong that they should tell Jesus about :) We've also talked a lot about how if someone is stuck in a burning building a fireman will run in and SAVE them from the fire. And a lifeguard will jump in the water and SAVE someone from drowning. And in the same way Jesus will come to our rescue and SAVE us from our sin so that we can spend the rest of our lives in Heaven one day.

Christian understands that Jesus died on the cross. He understands that it hurt Jesus to do that but that he did it for him and he did it for me. So he's had all of this stuff in his head for quite a while, but I have never wanted to rush him or pressure him into asking Jesus into his heart. I've never actually even asked him before if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. I've just been waiting and talking and sharing with him how much Jesus loves him.

So today we were riding in the car and he heard the word "Christian." (Obviously we were listening to Christian radio). A few minutes later someone said the word "Christian" again and this is the conversation that followed:

C: "I'm a Christian."
Me: "Well, remember we've talked about this before and I don't think that's a decision that you've made yet."
C:"Yes, I have. I am too a Christian. I prayed and ask Jesus to come into my heart."
Me: "What? You did? When did you do that?"
C: "I just did. I heard them say the word "Christian" on the radio and it reminded me that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart."
Me: "Well, what did you say when you prayed?"
C: "I just said; 'Jesus please come into my heart. Thanks for dying on the cross.' That's it."
Me: "Well do you want Mommy to pray with you? I would really like to do that."
C: "Nope I already did it."

So this completely caught me off guard. I pictured Ryan and I reading Christian a Bible story one night and all of us sitting on the edge of his bed holding hands praying with him that Jesus would be his Lord and Savior forever and it went nothing like what I had dreamed of. But you know, this was better. I love it that I wasn't involved. I love it that the thought just occurred to him and he felt convicted enough to do something about it. I think I complicate the whole issue of salvation, but really it's not complicated at all.
Romans 10:9 says "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It's that easy. Christian's prayer was simple but it took care of his "sin problem."
Christian and I did spend some time later sitting on the couch talking about his decision. We prayed together again and then we just had a very special time praying at bedtime. Christian called his Grammy and Grampy in Illinois to tell them the exciting news and he called my parents too. I want him to know that this is a super big deal. I want him to know that Jesus is the greatest friend he'll ever have. I told him tonight that the Bible tells us that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. And then I told him how the Bible tells us that when even one person chooses to follow Jesus the angels in Heaven rejoice! Just thinking about that makes me smile :)
What a special day we've had!