bad guys

As a parent you always wonder how much of what you try and teach your kids is actually sinking in.  I was reassured through a recent conversation in the car.

Noah:  Mom, try to guess what I’m thinking of. (this is his new favorite game to play)

Me:  Uh, I don’t know, bud.  Volcanoes? (this is not my favorite game to play)

Noah:  No, but don’t give up, Mom. (he is always very encouraging)

Me:  Give me a hint- is it in a movie?

Noah:  No, its a person…. a superhero.

Me:  Oh- is it a good guy or a bad guy? (trying to narrow down my options)

Noah:  Mo-om, (a little annoyed here at my insufficient questioning strategy) we are all bad guys until Jesus saves us…

Ahhh, from the mouths of babes…. how clearly and simply the gospel was preached in my car in that second.  We cannot separate the world into “good guys” and “bad guys”.  If those were the categories we’d all be on the wrong side.  The only hope for all of us is the cross, and it is available to all of those who realize they are bad guys and give up trying to convince God otherwise….

¹And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴But God, being because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ……⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:1-8

Me:  Silence….

Noah:  Mom…. keep guessing….