I believe the first choice is the reason for the second choice. Someone who has at least had one conversation with a kid thought, "Hm. Kids are kinda concrete thinkers. They don't get words like 'salvation' and 'repentance.' They probably don't get this gospel message I'm trying to give. I should use different, easier to understand words." Their spirit and hearts were in the right place, but the result is less than pleasing. They've managed to turn a seven-course meal into the little crackers with the cheese pit and the red stick to spread it around with. Yummy, satisfying, healthier than most things, but not actual sustenance. I'm not saying that "getting saved" is particular hard. But being a Christian is hard, so it's therefore a tough decision with a simple process. Yes, it is as easy as saying a prayer, but that's only the first step.
Think of when you were first learning to drive, and join me in this scene. You buckle up, which is easy, because you've been doing that since you got out of your booster seat when you were five. Sticking the keys in the ignition is cake, because you had seen your parents do it before, and they may have let you do it from time to time. Finding the switch to turn on the lights is a little difficult, but Dad is there to guide you. You adjust the mirrors just like he tells you to, revealing so many things you couldn't even see earlier. Now, you are ready for the one glorious moment you've waited for since you were seven, and your sister started driving your mom's mini-van--you get to crank the car. You hold your breath in eager anticipation of the rumbling beneath you, that is in your control entirely. Dad's in the seat beside you, but you, yes you, with your braces, awkward knees and elbows, and volcanic zits are in control of the car. The engine turns over, and you reach a level of ecstasy that is as frightening as it is invigorating.
Now, imagine Dad saying, "Okay, that's good. We're done here." You protest, "But Dad, we haven't gone anywhere yet?" Dad replies, "That's okay. You've cranked the car, and that's all there is to it. Now you are free to enjoy your learner's permit."
You can know the driver's manual front cover to back, pass the written exam with flying colors, get in the car, crank it up, and still have no idea what to do, or what all is entailed in driving. That scenario sounds dumb, because it is. Cranking the car is simply the first step to driving. Praying to "ask Jesus into your heart" is simply the first step to Christianity (after, of course, learning more about "the manual"). We get so focused on helping them make the first step, that we dumb it down, and reduce "becoming a Christian" to "saying a prayer" which is like reducing driving a car to cranking it.
Is it possible for a kid to figure out his way on his own? Yes, just like it is possible for a kid to figure out how to drive on his own. But think of all the wrecks, mishaps, and tickets a kid who is teaching himself to drive is likely to incur. A fifteen-year-old boy is not very patient, and is ready to leap from "Caleb Smith" to "Mario Andretti" in fifteen minutes. In the same way, many kids may try to jump to saint-hood, or, not even be aware that more is required of them than "cranking the car."
If you are teaching your kid to drive, you are going to make sure he understands all the responsibilities that are entailed. He has to be aware of how much speeding tickets cost, what his insurance is going to cost, how much it will go up if he wrecks his car, how much he will have to pay for a new car, how valuable his life is, how valuable the lives of those around him are, and how he is responsible for all of those things. A car is not just freedom, but responsibility. It is not for him to misuse, but to use wisely. Driving himself to school is a great idea, but driving himself to parties where he will simply get in trouble is not a great idea, and not why he has the car.
However, when it comes to salvation, the same child will be taught that Jesus wants to take his sins away because he loves him no matter what, and all he has to do is his ABC's--Admit that he has sinned; Believe that Jesus Christ died for him; and Confess his sins to God, and confess Jesus as his savior. That's it. And he will probably accept this message to make his parents happy and to clear his conscience of his guilt. In fact, all he thinks that "confessing Jesus as his savior" means is "saying Jesus is his savior." No commitment, no responsibilities, just reward.
Why on earth are we doing this to our kids? I remember when the ABC's stood for "Admit, Believe, and Commit," which honestly I prefer, because it actually does imply some responsibility on the Christian's part, but it still watered down the most important message in the world to three words. When I ask kiddos at church how to become a Christian, despite our best intentions, they still yell "Admit, Believe, Confess!" That's it. Three words that don't even form a sentence. Three words that in a vacuum can mean anything--admit that your sister has cooties, believe that her cooties are deadly, and confess your belief of her cooties to everyone you come into contact with. I can only assume that their parents latched onto the ABC's years ago, and that they're hearing it at home, because none of us in the kids' department teach them that message.
We treat the salvation of our children as either a matter of course, or a nursery rhyme. We've all been taught "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep," but that's hardly a confession of faith. So why do we expect the ABC's to be much better? This is no trifling matter, but the single greatest, most miraculous change to happen in any one person's life. C.S. Lewis had this to say about Christianity:
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."There is no middle ground. We either do what it takes to make sure the kids in our lives understand "salvation," or we don't. Refusing to simplify the message and refusing to portray it for what it is because we want to make it as easy as we can for the kids are simply unacceptable.
Step up people! Step up parents! Step up nursery workers, Sunday School teachers, Awana leaders, GA and RA leaders, children's choir directors, and sweet little old ladies on the back row! The single most important job any of us have is to make disciples, not make converts. It's to teach and facilitate and be useful vessels for God. Make sure they know. Make sure they understand, because if they don't get this, then nothing matters.
Exhortation over, and practical advice to come.
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