They Found Nothing!
Twenty-five years ago, when my son was 8 and my daughter 10, I nearly traumatized them. We were relaxing at home, enjoying one another’s company, when I looked at the children and said, “What would you guys think if I told you archaeologists think they found the bones of Jesus?”
Silence. It was a silence so profound it was almost eerie. My son stood up and, without a word, walked away. My daughter went on with what she was doing, but I could tell she was distracted.
All their lives they had been taught the truth: Jesus Christ arose from the dead. Both had asked the Lord into their lives when they were about 5 years old, and they were growing in the faith. How firmly did they believe in the resurrection? I was about to find out.
Sarah soon moved to sit next to me. “They didn’t really find Jesus’ bones, did they?” she asked.
“Does it really matter?” I replied. “We can all still be nice people. Even though Jesus promised to rise from the dead but didn’t, we can still follow some of His teachings.” I was giving her the same position many adults adhere to when they fail to grasp the significance of the resurrection and lack the faith to believe it.
Sarah looked at me with a hard stare. Then she declared, “It would be the end of the world!”
Soon Daniel came by. I tried to engage him, but he kept walking as he exclaimed, “I don’t want to talk about it! They found nothing!”
For a little guy, he was quite adamant. I quickly brought the matter to an end and told them I was not serious. Then I initiated a discussion on the importance of the resurrection.
The apostle Paul told believers in Corinth, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Cor. 15:14). How interesting that children often grasp such deep spiritual truth far easier than adults do. No wonder Jesus said, “Unless you…become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3).
An 8-year-old’s simple proclamation, “They found nothing!” contained more life-changing truth than volumes written by scholars who have everything but the faith to believe.
