“O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.” Luke 10:21 

Our four-year-old granddaughter joined us for the Maundy Thursday service last week and I wondered if she’d last through the entire service. Between playing with her Littlest Pet Shop toys and the discomfort from a noticeably painful sty on her eyelid, I wasn’t sure she’d glean any wisdom. 

The music started and she hopped into my arms, ready to worship. Half-way through the first song she pointed to the inlaid cross above the baptistery and said, “Jesus died on that cross, you know, Grams.” “Yes, he did,” I replied. “That’s why we’re here tonight–to remember him and say ‘thank-you’ for dying on the cross.”

The next morning the swelling and redness caused by her sty dissipated. I mentioned how much better her eye looked and she immediately responded, “Yes, it is better. Last night in church I heard someone whisper, ‘Look at your sty. I’ve made it better.'”

“Who do you think whispered in your ear?” I asked. As any preschool girl with an overactive imagination might respond, she said, “I don’t know. I think it was Hello Kitty.” Hmmm. Now what? Obviously, she wasn’t making this up. Her eye was remarkably better, so I seized this teachable moment and continued the conversation.

“No, sweetheart, Hello Kitty isn’t real or alive. She’s just a cartoon character, but remember you mentioned Jesus died on the cross? Well, he is real and he didn’t stay dead. God raised him from the dead on Easter, made him alive again. He’s alive, with God, in heaven and he talks with us, just like he whispered in your ear last night. That voice? That whisper in your ear? That was Jesus. Jesus made your eye better.”

Throughout the day, I watched her eye for any reoccurring redness or swelling and periodically asked her if it still hurt, but her eye kept improving. When her parents arrived later Friday afternoon, the first thing her mother said was, “Wow! Your eye is all better.” She looked up from her artwork and answered, “Yes, Jesus made it better.”

Although she didn’t recognize Jesus’ voice at first, does not negate the fact that she heard him whisper, “I’ve made it better.” Rather than dismiss a preschooler’s seemingly imaginative comments of a Jesus-encounter, recognize its reality and validity. We say that Jesus is alive. We sing it. We teach it to our children. Then let’s be quick to help them identify those Jesus-whispers in their lives.

Jesus has an irrefutable affection for children because they’re uncomplicated and transparent and possess a stronger, simpler faith than ours. It’s not surprising he still spends time with them, is it? Wasn’t it Jesus who said, ““Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14 NIV)?