Convo with my 4yr old

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Timmay

Puritan Board Freshman
Hello all,

My wife sent me a conversation between herself and my almost 4yr old son. We are a bit saddened by how it ended but we know God is faithful, and at least my son is telling the truth and not faking anything. We do catechism questions with him every day and a devotional every night before bed.

“C” is my son, “me” is my wife.

c: remember that song “wash away my sin” at church? Where is my sin?
Me: sin is disobeying or not keeping God’s law in any way. Did you disobey God?
c: yes. Do you have sin too?
me: yes, I have sin. I disobey God and I don’t keep his law

Then he asked what the law looks like,

Me: it is what God tells us to do in the Bible
Me: and Jesus takes away sin. He always did what God told him to do (note: he knows Jesus is God)
c: “Is Jesus in here? (Pointing to heart) I don’t want Jesus in here. Jesus is bad. I don’t want him to take my sin away.”
Me: Jesus is good. The best person ever. The only one who is good.

He disagrees.

Me:do you want to live and be with God forever?
C: No I want to stay here


I wasn’t there so I’m not sure how much he is really processing. His thing right now is to call his toy trains ‘bad guys’ so I don’t think he realizes what he is saying.

But it was kind of shocking to hear a forthright “no” on this matter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It's hard to know what is going through the mind & heart of most, if not all, 4 year olds.

Sometimes our 4 year old sounds like the second coming of Charles Spurgeon, and sometimes he can't answer basic theology questions. The latter seems to come when he's feeling extra tired, silly, or distracted.

Don't worry and keep plugging away.
 
At 4-yrs. old, don't let it bother you too much. Hold fast and keep teaching truth. Kids say crazy things. Of course you are not "crazy" for being worried. We should all, as Parents, have a eye to the spiritual state of our children. Keep up the good work, do not despair, and remember/proclaim God's promises to parents & their children.:detective:

P.S. I say this as a current parent of a 5yr. Old and 2yr. Old.
 
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At 4-yrs. old, don't let it bother you too much. Hold fast and keep teaching truth. Kids say crazy things. Of course you are not "crazy" for being worried. We should all, as Parents, have a eye to the spiritual state of our children. Keep up the good work, do not despair, and remember/proclaim God's promises to parents & their children.:detective:

P.S. I say this as a current parent of a 5yr. Old and 2yr. Old.

As a parent of a 5 and 2 year old (and a newborn!) myself, ditto. :)
 
We have a boy the same age. Sometimes he says wild stuff. Don't let it get to you unless that becomes the norm. But, always be sure to make the things of God and Heaven appealing. Like focusing a lot on God's love for him, God being the best Dad ever, and Heaven being a place that is full of the best things, where there will be parks and desserts. Of ckuse we want to teach them the full council of God, but we have to reach them where they are and with what works at their age. Blessings!
 
At his age, he experiences God most clearly by experiencing life with you in your Christian home. So when he says he doesn't want to go and live with God forever, but would rather stay where he is, he is actually affirming his experience of God. Most 3-year-olds who say they want to go and live with God forever would just be mimicking something they've been taught to repeat. A three-year-old should want to stay at home if it's a good and godly home. If you've done your job right, he isn't old enough yet to imagine and yearn for something better and safer and more loving than the home you've given him.

So don't push the issue. If you keep pressing him to affirm that he loves Jesus and Jesus is the best (even though he's never met the guy!), your boy might just dig in his heels and make it mission in life to prove to you that he doesn't love Jesus. But if you let it go, keep providing a loving home, show him that your love for him is an extension of Christ's love, and keep introducing him to Jesus through the Bible... it is likely he will understand as he grows up a bit.
 
So when he says he doesn't want to go and live with God forever, but would rather stay where he is, he is actually affirming his experience of God. Most 3-year-olds who say they want to go and live with God forever would just be mimicking something they've been taught to repeat.

We were very tickled one time when a little girl told her parents that when she died she wasn't going to go to heaven, instead she was going to go to Ruben and Heidi's...
 
LOL I'm just saying I try to teach my children that heaven is a place of familiar things, where they will experience the things they love now. If people know God as a loving father towards them, and Heaven as a place that's familiar and comfortable, they won't be reluctant to want to be with him or there. I can't imagine an amazing Feast without good dessert.
 
Kids of all ages try statements on "for size." Patiently persist in the solid teaching. At younger ages, it seems they question the permanence of truth -- what you told me yesterday is it true today? And at times, it seems like they don't get opposites, or they make baffling connections. (Referring to God, one of mine came out with: "For He's a jolly good fellow!") Just patiently build up the truth day by day.
 
Don't worry, all 4 year olds are dumb.
My 8 year old wants to moonwalk (don't ask why...).
So he asks my wife who was the best moonwalker ever, to which she grabs her phone and start to look for Michael Jackson. My 4 year old grabbed the opportunity with a straight face: "Neil Armstrong!".
I didnt know whether I should laugh or be amazed.
But I still agree with the above quote...
 
My 8 year old wants to moonwalk (don't ask why...).
So he asks my wife who was the best moonwalker ever, to which she grabs her phone and start to look for Michael Jackson. My 4 year old grabbed the opportunity with a straight face: "Neil Armstrong!".
I didnt know whether I should laugh or be amazed.
But I still agree with the above quote...
Seems a rather reoccurring theme. Now your avatar makes more sense:rolleyes:
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