At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me (Matthew 18:1-5).

My youngest son really made his older brother mad today. You see, my oldest, from almost the time he could talk, has loved to say, “but not better than Jesus!” You could tell him he has the neatest laugh, and he would counter, “but not better than Jesus!” Tell him he makes great toast, and you’ll hear, “but not better than Jesus!” Anything you could tell him would be met with the disclaimer and qualifier, “but not better than Jesus!”

Faithful readers will know that my youngest has a huge case of hero worship as far as my oldest is concerned. His Big Bubbie is just the coolest, smartest, funniest, best Big Bubbie ever! This afternoon, my youngest kept yelling across the hall to his older brother, “I love you, Bubbie!” My oldest would reply in kind. This went on for a few minutes, until my youngest made this tactical error: “You’re the best Big Bubbie, ever!” My oldest corrected him and told him to say, “Say I’m the second best Big Bubbie ever...” Apparently, my youngest would not do this. Finally, exasperated, my oldest said, “Say, I’m the second best Big Bubbie ever because Jesus is the best Big Bubbie ever!”

That sparked a whole conversation about God. My youngest, now seeing the error of his ways, said, “God is so cool, because He lives in Heaven!” That was met with a chorus of “yeah” from his brother and sister. My youngest went on to say how he was going up to Heaven to live there, too. The kids then began to sing, “Jesus Loves Me.”

It was so cute to witness this impromptu worship service. Equally as interesting was seeing how my oldest has taken on the mantle of instructing the younger. A few years ago, before my miscarriage, my oldest gave me a long list of things he would do when his sibling arrived. “But most of all, I’m going to teach her about Jesus!” Though not with that sib, who is in a far, far better place, he has made good on that promise with the advent of his new brother and sister.

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