“Is Jesus real?” The question came from my daughter sitting behind me as we drove home from the store. We had been talking about how there were not really that many more weeks for play practice before Christmas. . . The question totally caught me off guard.
I quickly said yes. “Prove it,” she said.
Was this the same girl who had just been singing about the heart and Jesus less than an hour before? Where was this coming from? I know questioning beliefs is part of your development as a human, but she is five. Are we going to have to do this already?
My husband gave me a look that said “What? Umm…you handle it,” so I tried.
I reminded her of the Bible stories, Church, the plants and animals. I reminded her of the celebration of the birth of Jesus. She agreed, but did not take it as proof.
So, I asked her, “Are you sitting in the back seat of this car?” “Yes,” she said. “Am I your Mommy?” I asked. “Yes,” she answered. “Well, then there is proof that Jesus is real. If he weren’t real, you would not be here. You are the answer to many prayers to God,” I told her. “Oh, okay. Thanks, ” she replied.
She seemed quite satisfied by my answer, but I was not. Finally, I ended probably where I should have began. I said that we know Jesus is real because of faith. Of course, then she asked what was faith?
“Believing in something even when you can’t see it,” my husband finally chimed in.
