Page 16 of Wish You Faith

Evan reread the three verses and saw that Rosie had underlined “Holy Spirit” and “spirit.” He wondered if this was his cheat sheet. Maybe it was why she had sent over her own Bible to him.

Or maybe he was overthinking it. After all, Rosie had underlined many passages. He flipped the pages randomly and saw that more verses were underlined. Underlining keywords was probably one of the ways that Rosie studied the Bible.

He felt that he was getting a glimpse into Rosie’s personal life.

A kid raised her hand. Rosie called her name.

“The Holy Spirit told Simeon,” the girl said.

Evan wondered how Rosie was going to handle that one. Would third graders know about the Holy Spirit of God?

“Thank you, McKenna. The Holy Spirit showed Simeon that Mary and Joseph’s baby was their Messiah.” Rosie looked around the room. “Remember that Jesus was still a baby at this point and hadn’t gone to the cross yet. Verse 25 says that the Holy Spirit was ‘upon him’ and not in him. Today, when we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in our heart.”

“I believe in Jesus!” a kid said, and several others echoed him.

They went around the room to talk about when and how they believed in Jesus. It was unexpected, and Evan found himself giving a brief testimony of his salvation.

“My parents call themselves Christians, but they are nominal at best,” Evan said mostly for Rosie’s benefit. He wasn’t sure why he began his salvation testimony there.

“What is nominal?” one of the kids asked.

“In name only,” Evan started to say. He stopped talking because he realized he was saying something negative about his own parents outside of their presence. They would be unable to defend themselves.

“If they’re saved, they’re baby Christians,” Rosie said. “If they’re not saved, then they might know enough about Christianity, but they may not be true believers. Only God knows their hearts and where they’re at. I don’t know.”

No sugarcoating.

“Anyway, my parents didn’t take my brother and me to church. They were always busy with work, even on Sundays,” Evan said. “However, my parents sent us to camp every year. In one of the summer youth camps, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. When I came home, my neighbors took me to church.”

When Rosie’s turn came, she blinked away tears in her eyes. “My mom led me to the Lord when I was five years old. My parents took me to church every Sunday. After Dad died, Mom and I continued to go to church together.”

Her mother had just lived past Stage 4 cancer. If it returned, Rosie would have no parents left on earth. Life would go on, but Evan wondered whether Rosie had other family in town or close friends.

“In verse 30, Simeon said that his eyes had seen God’s salvation,” Rosie said. “Does the word ‘seen’ remind you of another Bible passage? Put up your hand and I’ll call your name.”

A girl did.

“Yes, Myra?”

“Walk by sight?” she replied.

“Yes, 1 Corinthians 5:17 comes to my mind too. ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight.’ How does this verse apply to Simeon’s story? Does anyone know?”

Not a hand went up.

“No one knows?” Rosie asked.

When nobody said anything, Evan did. “Simeon walked by faith because he trusted that God would show him the Messiah. His faith in God allowed him to see God at work.”

“Oh. That’s very good, Mr. Evan,” Rosie said.

“He didn’t raise his hand before he answered,” a random kid said.

Indicted, Evan raised his hand right away.

“Too late!” another kid said.

“We raise our hands and wait to be called so that we’re not all talking over one another and all at once,” Rosie said. “Before Mr. Evan answered the question, it was quiet in the room and nobody raised their hands. Besides, he’s a teacher. Not only does he not have to raise his hand, but when he speaks, everyone else needs to be quiet.”

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