We took our kids to the Columbus Zoo this weekend – not that the little guy cared at all, but we figured it would be a great time for our 2.5-year-old, Ada. I realized things weren’t going exactly as planned somewhere around the elephants, when her serious little face just wasn’t registering the euphoria I thought it would.
We made our way to the lions, where lo and behold the male lion was camped out close to the viewing area. I hoisted her up so she could see him in all his lion coolness. She took it all in, and then very matter-of-factly said, in a voice loud enough just about anyone could hear:
“I wanna pet the wion.”
This was the theme of the day – I wanna pet the elephant, I wanna pet the bear, I wanna pet the monkey. Not “Wow, look at all these great things I can see,” but “What can I experience firsthand?” I have no doubt that Ada’s favorite moment at the zoo was climbing on stuff, and she has far more fondness for the stuffed lion we brought home than the real one.
As I reflected on Ada’s toddler entertainment values, it struck me as parallel to the kids we meet and their perceptions of God. Most kids I know are unimpressed – or more accurately, unchanged – by a God they see only from a distance, no matter how great and impressive he is. They are craving to experience God – not just for a moment, but in the real life of every day, in the gritty, unglamorous world they inhabit. No matter how great we think the view is, if they are not changed, then the view is not enough. Many of these kids already believe in God – but what does that mean when they feel like punching someone, or like they’ll never amount to anything?
How do kids experience God up close – how do they “pet the lion”? Through people who have Jesus in them, who are willing to get up close with kids. The grandparents, college students, moms and dads, ministry workers who will befriend a kid, show up, walk with them through daily decisions, share their life story, and shine the light of Jesus on the chaotic world we live in.
It’s not that kids just want to pet the lion. They need to pet the lion. You heard me – they need to. I can’t help but think of Aslan the lion, the Christ figure of the Narnia Chronicles. “Safe?” says the Beaver, about Aslan. “Oh, he’s not safe! But he’s good.”
So many kids need to experience the fierce goodness, the life-changing power of God. Not see it – experience it. It does not happen in a flash; it happens in common, everyday moments. But when it happens, that is when kids truly begin to grasp and own what it means to have faith in an awesome, powerful, kingly, yes – lion-like God.
Faith Bosland
Executive Director