“Will there be dinosaurs in heaven?”
This was the question asked that started our Gospel conversation.
For those of you who do not know, I work at a preschool. In the past, I have tried to establish a time in the classroom to do catechism readings and have specific, Gospel-oriented talk. However, due to some unexpected events within the classroom I haven’t been able to do anything consistent. That being said, there are still some awesome moments that I will forever cherish where I am able to share the Gospel with these small kids.
One of the kids, age 5, has taken to asking me to read him stories during free-play time. This particular day (and many others before it) we read a book about dinosaurs. After I had finished, he stopped and asked me “Will there be dinosaurs in heaven?”
I answered, “I am not sure about that, but heaven will be like a new earth, so…. maybe.”
He then asked me why heaven would be like a new earth. I have to take a moment and pause to emphasize that I wish people of all ages would have such unhardened hearts as to ask questions like this so freely! The way children ask questions about serious things is so beautiful.
Anyways, I shared the Gospel with him. I told him that we would be in heaven too if we repented and trusted in Jesus. I also told him that we had to do this because we were sinners, and then I brought in the Law. He openly confessed to lying, stealing, and disobeying his parents. Even he, at such a young age, didn’t think it was a very big deal. I then told him about how, because we are so bad, what we are deserving of is eternal judgement (in more simplistic terms). His reaction was pretty astounding.
“You mean bad people don’t just stay dead?!?”
It’s sometimes awkward to reveal to children that a place called Hell exists, but I did. Immediately after, I brought in the Gospel. I told him that Jesus, who is God, came to live on earth and led a sinless life. I then told him that He died for our sins, and that if he would repent and trust in Christ that he would go to heaven.
When the word ‘repentance’ was brought up, I spent a long time giving an explanation about the meaning of the word. However, at the end he still did not get it. I asked him what the Gospel was, and he said “Do good things so we can go to heaven!”
“Nooooooooo!” I said, “We do the good things because we LOVE Him. Our good deeds won’t get us into heaven, only Jesus.”
After that, he got really quiet and walked away. I was really worried that what I said had left him with a skewed version of the Gospel. He walked to his backpack, unzipped it, and pulled some buttons out. He then turned and gave them to me, and went back to play with his friends.
Later, I found out that those buttons belonged to his morning teacher and he had stolen them. I am not sure if that young boy is truly saved, but I am praying for his conversion at a young age. Please join me, and pray that I get more opportunities to minister to these children!
The buttons.
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