his mind makes my heart sing

Ever since Ethan first heard and (somewhat) understood the story of Jesus' life here on earth, he hasn't liked the part where we tell him that Jesus died on the cross for HIS sins... meaning Ethan's. He loves the story up until that point and then gets very upset and insists that Jesus might have had to die for everyone else's sins, but he doesn't like owning any part of that responsibility.
If you know Ethan very well, this doesn't surprise you. He loves meeting new people, he'll be your friend as long as you don't say "get lost kid, I can't stand you" and he does not like knowing that he's upset you, for any reason. So it didn't really worry us that he didn't care for that part of the gospel. :)

Yesterday the kids and I were driving around town and I was singing to some gospel songs I have on CD in the car. When the disc ended he said - "Mommy, do you think Jesus had to die on the cross because of me?" I could tell he had been listening to me sing Amazing Grace and was connecting what I was singing about, so I took the opportunity and ran with it. I decided to be very frank with him and not confuse his question.

"Yes Ethan. Jesus did die on the cross because of the sin in your heart. He did it to obey His Father and because He loves you."
I looked in the review mirror and noticed his face was so sad and sullen looking, so I kept going. :)

"He did it so that you can say "thank you, Jesus" and then obey Him, love Him and serve Him forever!"

He sits up in his seat, meeting my eyes in the mirror... "So, if I say "I'm sorry, Jesus" will He say "I forgive you, Ethan" ?

"Yes, He will. But you can't do anything to take away the pain Jesus had to go through, Ethan. He did it ALL because He loves you so much and He just wants you to live for Him and obey and tell others about Him, in return."

His mind is really twirling here...
"Okay. So... after He died on the cross, God rose Him from the dead and so now He's not dead anymore, right?"

"Nope! He's in Heaven and He's taking care of you every single minute of the day and night."

"I know. When I'm scared in the dark at night, I pray to Him and then I fall asleep because He takes care of me."

We drive for about 2 miles longer and he says... "Mommy... could you turn on the song Thank you, Jesus for me?" I scan through our CD's and turn the song on. Within seconds I can hear my son belting out the chorus,

"Your blood has washed away my sin -- Jesus, thank You! Your Father's wrath completely satisfied -- Jesus, thank You! Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table -- Jesus, thank You!! Lover of my soul... I want to live for You!...."

When the song ends, he notices that I have tears streaming down my face and tells me "Mommy, you don't need to be sad about it anymore. Jesus died, but now He's in Heaven and its a happy thing for you, not a sad thing." I explained to him that I'm crying because I know Jesus is very happy when He hears people singing praises to Him and Ethan ends our conversation with... "Yeah... that's why I like to do it."

Now, I know my son is only 3 years old and a lot of this is just fact to him and not quite a reality, but all you mothers out there know exactly how you feel when you get these tiny glimpses of their tender hearts. I won't be able to hear that song on the radio or sing it in church without sobbing my eyeballs out, just because this was a gentle reminder of God telling me that I have a huge ministering opportunity in my own home. These little ears are listening to everything we say and do and its amazing to me how much they truly grasp! I'm not sure we give God enough credit for the human brain. :)

Another cute fact: whenever Ethan comes over to kiss my tummy and talk to the baby, its very rare that he'll walk away without saying, "Remember to love God and obey Him, because He loves you so much!"