Sarah: "Mommy, can I ask you something"
Mommy: "Sure"
Sarah: "When we all die, will we become alive again?"
Mommy: "Well...the bible says if we believe and trust Jesus and all He did for us, we will be alive in Heaven with Him."
Sarah: "Everyone in this whole wide world?"
Mommy: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the son of God and that He saved us from our sins. They will be alive, just like how Jesus became alive after 3 days.
Sarah:" Everyone in this whole wide world?"
Mommy: "Well...for those who do not believe in Jesus, they are alive too but they will be in a place where there is no God"
The conversation continued a little more about what was going to happen to this earth if everyone went somewhere else and Sarah got upset at the thought that this world would one day end...
I never would have guessed that my own daughter would experience the same confusions I had when I was her age. Now that I am three decades wiser and perhaps more enlightened, let me attempt to codify these confusions into words.
Sarah, like myself was coming to term with two realities that run parallel to one another.
The first reality is the realization that we are made as living and active individuals with a great propensity to question, experiment and learn about the world which we live in. That I witnessed in the lives and minds of Sarah and Samuel from the moment they came into the world. The vigor, zest and enthusiasm to stare, to look, to turn their heads, to put everything their tiny hands could get hold of into their mouths and to their endless 'whys'. This realization [with the proper conditions and nurturing] would manifest into a relentless pursuit of knowledge, and insatiable interest in everything that this world has to offer....until we are confronted with the second reality.
The second reality is the realization that this world and we who are in it, will eventually pass away and die. 'That nothing is permanent nor eternal' would inevitably confront every individual at some point in their lives.
These two realities run parallel to one another and between them, exist a chasm so huge that it is almost impossible to reconcile. These realities attempt to converge and when they do, they cause much confusion to the mind. For what is one to do? What is life about then if all we were taught to learn and embrace seems to come to nothing if this world were to end?
For Sarah, I think coming to terms with these realities has brought much confusion and sadness. But I am rejoicing in my heart because the realization of these realities are the first signs of a spiritual awakening. She will come to understand that this chasm will never be reconciled by anyone or through any effort but by God - Only by God, through Jesus. Only Christ can bridge these two realities and help her understand the true meaning of her life and give her a renewed purpose, mind and life.
May the Lord continue to guide Sarah's heart and mind to the Truth, the Way and the Life - through His Words and through Us.
Sarah: *as if not wanting to hear anymore of the devastating reality, she stuff her head into her pillow and blurted" Mommy, can you tell me the story of Three Little Pigs.
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