I am so thrilled to have the amazing children’s author, Glenys Nellist, sharing her grandson’s story with us today. Glenys is a wonderful storyteller (both on the page and in person), has worked in children’s ministry, is married to a pastor, and is a mom and a grandma. She loves Jesus and wrote an entire series of truly unique children’s picture Bibles in an effort to help kids know him better. But I’ll let her tell you her story herself…
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I remember the day well. It was a Thursday afternoon and we were sitting together on the sofa, my little grandson and I. We were reading my very first children’s Bible storybook: Love Letters from God, and I remember thinking: what greater blessing could there possibly be than to sit with your three-year-old grandson and read God’s great story together on a Thursday afternoon?
He laughed at the story of Jonah in The Very Smelly Belly, he smiled when he heard how Zacchaeus, The Tiny Tax Collector, found his very best friend; and he looked with interest at the marks on Jesus’ hands and feet when we read The Happy Ending. His favorite part of every story was lifting the flaps on his love letters from God and seeing his name printed there.
And then he turned the final page to see his very own lift-the-flap invitation—his chance to say yes to God; to say yes to being part of God’s wonderful family; to say yes to salvation; to say yes to joining Jesus’ team.
And I remembered when I was writing the book, how I had pondered long about how to offer that salvation call to little ones, how to word it in such a way that their little minds might understand, and their little hearts be open to.
It took me a while, but one day in my mind I saw that Galilean beach so long ago, and those fishing boats pulled up on shore, and Jesus walking along the beach, leaving his footprints in the sand as he makes his way toward James and John.
And Jesus simply says, Follow me.
And there it was: The Invitation. The life-giving invitation to the most amazing adventure those brothers would ever know. Simple. Uncomplicated. No conditions. Just follow me.
And they do! Those first disciples drop their nets and said yes to Jesus. They just follow his sandy footsteps along the beach without saying ‘The Sinners’ Prayer’ or falling to their knees in repentance. All that would come later. For now, all they do is say yes.
Salvation is simple. It was never meant to be complex, or hard to understand. Salvation is a simple invitation to say yes to Jesus.
And so the little blonde on my lap turns the last page of the book to see his invitation, and opposite, he sees the last envelope attached to the page, with blank lines, ready for him to write his own letter to God; his own yes; in his own little way.
“What’s this Grandma?”
“Well, it’s your invitation honey, to join Jesus’ team, And this is a letter that you can write back to God one day.”
But not right now, I’m thinking…you’re too young. You’re only three. You don’t understand.
But he is insistent; he wants to write his reply now; and so hesitantly, I ask:
“Well what do you want to say to God?”
And then here it comes…
His immediate, perfect, three-year-old response.
It’s not supposed to be this way…this teaching thing. Grandmas are supposed to teach their three-year-old grandsons, not the other way around. But that’s when God steps in, right there, when you’re sitting on the sofa on a Thursday afternoon, that’s when God steps in, out of the blue, and lets you know He’s real.
“I want to say I Love You.”
My three-year-old grandson wants to tell God he loves Him. Perfect. And right now, at just three years of age, what more would God want to hear?
The book sits closed on my table now. My grandson is probably playing in his sand pit.
But when he comes here again, we will sit on the sofa, and take up the book. We will turn its pages, and open that letter, where those three little words scrawled in his three-year-old hand are waiting to remind me-
you are never too young for salvation;
you are never too young to say yes to God.
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? Isn’t that just the sweetest? And a timely reminder that God is in the business of busting open every box we try to put Him in. Every time we say, “God wouldn’t do that, he’s too…”, He seems to delight in raising his eyebrows, giving a little grin and saying, “oh yeah? Watch me.”
If you’d like help explaining the Good News of Jesus to your child, click here or on the picture below to download my free resource!
For more from Glenys, you can connect with her on her website and find all her social links there.
I highly recommend her “Love Letters From God” series, particularly the Easter one. It explains Jesus’ death and resurrection in such a perfect way for little ones.
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