Kids say the darnedest things

Each Sunday, part of the service at our church includes a children’s sermon where all the kids in the church come forward and gather around the pastor for a short sermon designed especially for them.

Our pastor, Ken Houston, often asks the children questions during these sermons and the responses he gets can be very interesting.

On one of these Sundays not too long ago, Pastor Ken asked the kids, "What does it mean when we say, ‘Amen,’"?

Our five-year-old daughter Molly really likes to answer these questions, and so she shot up her hand.

"It means you’re done talking," she answered.

There were a few chuckles in the congregation, and Pastor Ken told her, that she was right, and he said he bet there were a few folks in the congregation who wished he would say it more often.

While it’s true that we often say ‘Amen’ at the end of a prayer or at the conclusion of some spiritual conversation, the pastor explained that what he was really getting at was the actual meaning of the word, ‘Amen.’

He explained to the children – the children in the congregation of all ages – that Amen means something to the effect of "this is the true word of God."

I know the meaning of a lot of words, but I have to admit, I never fully knew the meaning of this word that I have used ever since I was a child.

It just goes to show that children – of all ages – are never too old to learn something new.

The wonderful thing about children is that they speak from their heart and they speak what they know to be true.

Adults often are less open about how they feel – they protect themselves in layers of secrecy and privacy.

I think that if we could all be more childlike and find a way to speak the honest truth as we see it and tell one another what we’re really feeling, then I bet a lot of the problems in this world would be solved.