Today I had the most interesting discussion with my 6-year-old daughter on the way to church. It went something like this:
Crisana: Mom, who wrote the book of Matthew?
Me: Jesus’ disciple, Matthew.
Crisana: Wow….(pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts and do some more “research”)…Luke wrote Luke and he was a doctor!
Me: Yes, and he also wrote the book of Acts.
Crisana: (another pause as she absorbs that information and continues to do some “research”)Â And John wrote John!
Me: Yes, and he also wrote the book of Revelation.
Crisana: (the sound of pages shuffling as she finds her way to the back of her Bible) Hey! I never knew there were 4 Johns in the Bible!
Me: What do you mean?
Crisana: It says right here, 1-2-and 3- John. That’s 3 Johns! Did John write ALL those books?
Me: Well, yes, now that you mention it, he did.
Crisana: Wow…he must have worked really hard to write all those books.
Me: Yes, he did work hard, but you know what? God helped John. He told John exactly the words to write down so we could know and learn all the things God wanted us to know about Him.
Pause. There’s apparently some deep thinking occurring in that booster seat.
Crisana: Hey, Mom, shouldn’t we pray?
Side note: we’ve started a tradition that one of us – or more – prays in the car on the way to church.
Me: Sure! Who wants to dial?
Crisana: I will! Dear God, thank You for helping John to write all those books of the Bible and to do all that hard work so that we could learn about You and know You better…
I tell you, I certainly went into church with a deeper gratitude and appreciation for the holy inspiration of Scripture.