Little Sinner

I remember sitting in a World-View class at TMM (10 years ago!??!) while Dave Hasz asked questions about who is and isn't evil.  Are criminals evil? Are the random people you see on the street evil? Are teenagers evil? Are 4 year olds evil? 3 year olds? 2 year olds?  Most everyone answered yes to each question up until that point.  Then he asked "Is a newborn baby evil?"  To which most everyone gave pause. Babies are so little and innocent and pink.  They can't possibly know about sin and the evilness of the world. They can' possibly be tainted when they are so new and smell so good.

WRONG.

I'm here to tell you, friends, that sweet, happy, adorable child you see up there... she's a sinner just like the rest of us.  I watch in amazement as I tell her to do something and she shakes her head and says "no".  My beautiful, perfect little angel, is already disobeying both me and the Word - BLATANTLY.  I watch with a mixture of amusement and horror when I take something from her and she falls to the floor screaming in her most dramatic voice. She doesn't watch TV, she doesn't go to daycare, she's never seen this type of behavior modeled for her. It's inherent.

She inherited a sinful nature just like the rest of us. My sweet angel baby is a sinner!  It's not as if I didn't know this. But it is shocking to see it in your own child for some reason. She too, is fallible.  She too needs a savior.  She too, was on the mind of Christ when he gave up everything to save a hopeless and dying world.  She needs Him as much as you or I.  The catch is, it is not only my responsibility, but my purpose, to make sure she knows. I am here to make sure she knows that He died to save her. I am here to make sure she knows that she can be redeemed from her inherent sinful nature.  I am here to make sure she is trained in the way she should go.  The hard part - I can't make her choose rightly.  I can only make sure she knows. This parenting thing is not for the faint of heart.  It's heavy. Every single day parents influence the eternity of their children. I'm so thankful to have a God who never leaves me alone with that task!