Through the eyes of my child

AJ, my oldest (he will be 10 in June), has been having nightmares off and on over the last couple of weeks. He is so shaken up by them that he doesn’t even want to talk about it. Each night at bedtime, either Christy or I will lie down with him to pray for God to keep the bad dreams away as we try to model for AJ the best way to handle his situation: prayer.
Tonight AJ wouldn’t even go to bed because he was so worried that he was going to have a nightmare. It was very frustrating for us as parents because he wouldn’t even tell us what he was scared of. We tried rocking with him, letting him look at books, and listen to music, but he was completely inconsolable. As my wife and I held him, I prayed for God to put angels at every corner of his bed and in the windows of our house to keep away bad thoughts and dreams.
As my prayer ended, AJ had calmed down and with his face buried in Christy’s shoulder, he finally revealed his fear: he had been thinking about Jesus’ crucifixion and they had just talked about it again in Sunday school this morning. AJ has always had a deep, heartfelt sensitivity to the suffering Jesus endured as He bore our sins on the tree.
How many people in this world either reject the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice or give only an intellectual acknowledgment of the wrath that God poured out on His only Son for the redemption of humanity?
Worse yet, how many Christians have become complacent with the fact that they were bought for an incredible price and even forget that the punishment we deserve for breaking God’s commandments was paid in full when God slaughtered his only Son on that tree?
“Yet, it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10-11).
My 9-year-old son has a special insight into the price that Christ paid that most Christians (myself included) wish we had. AJ weeps over the pain Christ suffered in a way that I probably never have. I have a lot to learn through the eyes of my child.