Jonathan was wanting to be saved for a long time. His desire began after Hannah was saved about 2 years ago. You can read her salvation post from April 4, 2011 entitled “Two Birthdays!!!“
Hannah was so thrilled about being saved that she would tell Jonathan how to be saved while he was still very young.
We do not pressure our children to be saved. We want them to understand completely what they are doing and why.
Jonathan did not understand that he was a sinner. We taught him that sin is the bad things we do. In order to be saved he needed to realize he did bad things and feel sorry about those bad things he did.
Jonathan did not feel at all convicted of his sin when he was younger. So whenever he would ask us how to be saved we would explain that first step and then tell him that God knows he wants to be saved but until he understands what sin is God keeps him safe.
Earlier this year, Jonathan was finally understanding that he was a sinner and really wanted to be saved. We were sure from how he talked and answered our questions that he wasn’t just wanting to join the “saved club”.
He agreed that he was a sinner and I read him the Bible verses “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Jonathan understood what he needed to do. I even had him tell me how to be saved. He had all the head knowledge. All he needed to do was ask Jesus to save him. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
I wanted him to say the prayer for himself. I don’t like having a child quote a prayer I made up. I want them to understand that they are talking to God when they pray just like they talk to me. Jonathan wasn’t sure what to say in his prayer. I asked him if he wanted me to write a prayer that he dictates to me and then he can pray it. He agreed and he wrote a very nice well worded prayer. Telling God that he was sorry for his sins and that he wanted to be saved.
After that prayer he looked at me and asked, “Am I saved now?”
I looked back at him and said, “You tell me. Are you saved?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged.
“Did you really mean what you said? Were you serious?” I asked.
“I don’t know. How can I be serious?”
Weeks after we had this conversation Jonathan still wasn’t sure. Whenever we would talk about it he was still stuck on whether he was serious or not when he prayed. He also wasn’t sure if he was sorry enough for his sins.
He didn’t like sinning and he knew sinning was bad but he wasn’t sure if he was sorry enough. You know this is a good question to ponder on a while. Are we really sorry for those bad things we do? Are we serious?
Committing your life to Christ is a longterm commitment. You shouldn’t take these things lightly and I feel Jonathan was truly weighing it all out in his mind.
Finally, Wednesday, August 20, Jonathan figured it out.
After our Bible Study that Wednesday night Jonathan told me that he wanted to be saved. I sent him to have a talk with Scott. When Jonathan came back he looked rather sad that he still didn’t understand.
I asked him, “What is it that’s holding you back?”
“I don’t know how to be serious?” he said sadly.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Yes, I’m serious that I really want to be saved!” he replied.
The next part he was worried about was whether he felt bad enough about his sins.
He named a few things that he knew he did wrong.
I asked him if it made him feel bad that those things were holding him back from being saved. He said that he didn’t want to go to hell.
I explained that it was his sin that would cause him to go there. I then asked him if that made him feel bad. He agreed it did.
He wanted to know how to not do bad things.
I explained that he couldn’t be good by himself that only Jesus could help him. All he needed to do is ask Jesus to forgive him. It was at that point he closed his eyes and said a silent prayer.
He opened his eyes and asked me, “Am I saved now?”
I replied, “You tell me. Are you saved?”
“How do I know I’m saved?” he asked.
“Didn’t Jesus say in the Bible that He would save you if you ask Him to?”
I love seeing the light come on in a child’s face when they just figure something out.
He understood. “So I’m saved!”
“Did you ask Jesus to save you?”
“Yes! I’m saved!”
“Do you want to go tell Daddy?”
“Yes!” He runs off to the other room shouting, “Daddy, I’m saved!”
Scott came into the living room to hear the whole story and to give Jonathan a big hug. Jonathan then ran around the house telling all his siblings the good news.
The next day Scott and I overheard Jonathan witnessing to Elijah, “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. All you have to do is call on the name of the Lord!”
Elijah who is only 4 and doesn’t quite have this all figured out yet hollers real loud, “LORD!!!”
Jonathan has been wanting to tell everyone about what Jesus did for him. Even today he told us that when he grows up he wants to tell people about Jesus.
It’s my prayer that he never loses that joy of his salvation and that desire to share his testimony with everyone.
Do you have that joy? When was the last time you shared it with others? Feel free to practice sharing that joy with us in the comments. Don’t stop there though. Go share that joy with the rest of the world.
My next post will be written in Argentina. I plan to post a lot during this month. Pray for us! We fly out tomorrow morning.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
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Beautiful!
I remember those day with tears of seeing the light come over your babies face.