Spiritual Conversations With ChildrenSýnishorn

Listening to God in the Life of Jesus

Knowing that connection is at the heart of relationship, God took on flesh and “moved into the neighborhood” ( John 1:14 The Message). The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are not only redemptive but also formational. 

For centuries we have focused on the importance of children connecting with the death and resurrection of Jesus, but missed the basic element of connection found in Jesus’ life. Jesus’ incarnation offers a “withness” children can connect through. Although Christ has always been and will always be, his incarnation had a human relational purpose to it; his life with a body demonstrated a shared experience of humanity and intimate human relationship. His bodily mortal life serves as both an invitation into and an example of an intimate community.

By his model, Jesus shows children how to enter and live in the Community of Love. Children are invited to experience Jesus in his own life through the Gospels because Jesus is infinitely relatable to children. Once when taking a group of middle school children through Luke 2:41-52, a teen boy commented, “I get that. My mom says, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this?’ all the time. My parents don’t get me either.”

Jesus faced the same existential fears all humans face, but these fears never took root in his soul. He knew how to connect with Love’s Family so completely that love overcame his fear. As a member of the trinitarian reality, Jesus exudes love and is love. Like all human beings, he experienced growth into love, spurred on by intentionally walking as closely with the Father as possible. 

Like all human children, Jesus learned his boundaries and even flopped his toe over the edge to see how far was too far. He used the question, “Why were you searching for me?” and “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” as boundary markers. Jesus is without sin; therefore this boundary testing isn’t off the mark, but right in line with human development. Verses 51 and 52 show us that once he located the boundaries, he honored them. This not only was a gift to his mother, who treasured it in her heart, but the process also helped him to grow and develop. 

Notice the questions—and even the pushback—that your children offer. How is God inviting you to pray for them?