I Forgive You, Jesus by Tami Cinquemani

“Auntie, do you eat the chicken?”

“Yes, Honey, I eat the chicken.”

Heartbroken, my friend’s little niece’s lip trembled as she put on a brave smile, “That’s okay if you eat the chicken, Auntie.  I love you anyway.”

Ashley was four years old at the time.  Having been raised a vegetarian, her parents had been teaching her that she should not judge people if they ate meat.  This was very difficult for a young child with a tender and sensitive heart for all living creatures.

Finding out her favorite aunt “ate the chicken,” however, paled in comparison to when she discovered that Jesus “ate the fish.” Again, with brave determination to follow her parents’ counsel and not judge someone because of their diet, in her prayer before bed that night she said, “I forgive you, Jesus, for eating the fish.”

When my friend told me this story, I laughed.  It’s a precious story – because the heart of this little girl is so pure and so innocent that this was her sincere response to trying to get her mind around Jesus doing something that just seemed so inconceivable. Ah, children!  They say the darndest things, don’t they?

But wait a minute – don’t we do the same thing?  We may not be so bold as to come out and say it, but don’t we sometimes believe Jesus did the wrong thing? Isn’t it unimaginable to us that he did things like drink wine, party with sinners, slack off on Sabbath observance, fail to condemn homosexuals, obsess about serving the poor, and offer what seems to be pretty “cheap” grace?

How do I get my mind around Jesus telling me to “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37) when what he did seems so inconceivable?  Maybe, like Ashley, I need to grow in my understanding of who Jesus is before I fully comprehend the perfect example he left for me to follow.

Tami Cinquemani