Salvation Comes in the Morning (in the car)

Every Wednesday I work in my son's first grade classrooom. I drop my 4 yr old off at Mammaw's and then Lake and I head to school together. This morning after we dropped Kaden off, Lake said, "Mama, where do you go when you die?". I said, "Well, honey, that depends..... If you are saved and have accepted Jesus into your heart, you will go to heaven because the Bible says 'to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". He said, "What if your not saved? You go to hell, right?" I said, "Yes." He hesitated a minute and said, "I want to ask Jesus into my heart right now". So, I prayed with him and we talked in the car in front of school for about 15 minutes about what it means to be a Christian and how we have to grow in our faith.

He has been asking questions every night before bed for about 3 weeks now. I have not initiated any conversation about 'being saved' because I figured the Holy Spirit didn't really need my help to convict his little heart. After we prayed, he said, "You know I'm gettin' babitized right?" (translation:baptized) I said, "Right, I know". He said, "Will you go with me?" (I thought he meant into the water) I said, "Ummm, where?" He said, "To talk to Pastor Arden!" I said, "Of course!" Lake is not a fan of water. He goes to swimming lessons only because I make him. Being Baptists, we believe in immersion baptism (see Matthew 3:16), so this is a big step for a kid who stays in the shallow end.

Lake is our first child, so we are in uncharted water here. I feel a huge burden to teach him and train him - help him grow in the Lord. What a huge responsibility! It will be a learning process for both of us. I just pray that the decision he made in the car this morning will be one he remembers when he is tempted to turn from what he knows is right. I pray that he will follow unconditionally and never veer off course. I pray that Steve and I will lead by example and he will see Jesus alive and well and living in our home and in our hearts. I pray that when he goes into that water, he will come up a new person and set his eyes on the Prize that is Jesus. I pray that he will not accept the watered-down version of Christianity that the world offers, but Jesus' version offered through the Bible and the Holy Spirit.