Last night around 9 pm I got a text from a friend. His grandfather had a massive heart attack and my friend asked for prayer. Jack, my six year old, and I were going through our regular night-time routines when this came in and both of us instinctively knew we needed to pray right then and there.
This morning, as I was taking Jack to school, I got another text saying my friend’s grandpa had died. Don’t ask me why, but I felt this was an important moment for Jack and I. I pulled over to the side of the road and explained what had happened. I know life and death are kind of heavy for a six year old, but I knew this was significant.
Jack’s face was so sad. He loves his grandparents very much, so this became very real to him. Now, it wasn’t the first question he asked, but somewhere in that three minutes Jack asked, “Is he going to heaven? Does he know Jesus?” Wow. I was overwhelmed by his Kingdom-pointed response.
I followed up by “Life is short Jack.” He responded, “Is it really Dad or are you just kidding?” That question has haunted me all day. It seems some never move past that mentality, that there is all the time in the world. I understand that thinking if you are six, but for the rest of us: Life is short.
Jack started smiling after I told him that our friend’s grandpa had stepped over the faith-line and was with Jesus. I didn’t expect to learn so much this morning about life, but my question is:
If I really believe life is short then what other 3 minute conversations do I need to have?