Sixty-five.  What a cool number.  It's the number of teams in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  It's the year that "My Fair Lady" won the Oscar for Best Picture and the arch was completed in St. Louis.  Some people still look at this as the magic age of retirement.

It's also the number of children, preschool to Grade 5, we had Sunday.  That's incredibly exciting to me.

One of the things I'm seeing is that a significant number of children are beginning to respond to God's love and the message of the gospel.  I believe that over the next several months we may see a harvest of children coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  That, too, is very exciting to me.

Often parents ask how they can know if their children are "ready" to be baptized, or to receive Christ.  That's a valid question, and the way we respond to those children can have a significant impact on that child's life for years.  On the one hand, we don't want to ignore an open-hearted question or desire to serve Jesus.  On the other hand, we don't want to run children through a baptistry when they have no idea of why it's important in the first place. 

When I visit with a child about becoming a Christian or being baptized, I try to avoid yes-or-no questions.  I want them to speak in their own words.  Here are some things I hope every child (of any age!) will know:

1. How God feels about them. (He loves them totally - see John 3:16).
2. Why it is so important to be saved. (Because it is the only way to get to Heaven, and because we are powerless to save ourselves.  We have sinned - see Romans 3:23, John 14:6).
3. What sin is (any act of disobedience to God).    
4. Whether or not they have sinned (yes - everyone has).
5. How God feels about sin (He hates it).
6. What happens to people who sin (they perish - put Romans 6:23 in your own words that=s age-appropriate for a child).
7. What Jesus did about our sin (He died on a cross for our sin - see Romans 5:8).
8. How we must respond to Jesus in order to be saved (we must turn away from our sin and believe that Jesus died in our place, and commit our lives to him).

Can a young child understand that?  Yes.  My children were saved at ages 5-6-7 respectively.  But not every child does.  Moms and dads, keep a dialogue open with your children.  Answer their questions and ask them a few of your own.  Don't ignore them; don't rush them, either.  Look for understanding, but just as important, look for conviction.  Remember, becoming a believer in Jesus is a spiritual transaction that starts first with God, and ends with a completely changed life. 

Be prepared... I believe some lives are going to be changed soon.