How I Became A Christian

My mom saves stuff. Recently she sent me a copy of a one-page paper I wrote in 3rd or 4th grade (we're not sure which) about my conversion to Christ. Evidently I got an "A" on this assignment (yes, I went to a Christian school).Four truths stick out to me from reading this early account of my testimony:1. God saves young children. I had always thought it was at the age of 5 that I placed my faith in Jesus, but from this earlier manuscript (I'm just doing good textual criticism) it appears that my conversion occurred at the age of 4. I've often heard Christians express skepticism over the supposed conversion of children. I understand where that comes from, many times it's warranted, but I don't know of any exegetical grounds to support such skepticism and certainly my experience, and the experience of many others, challenges such skepticism.2. God reveals more of the gospel as converted children grow older. Writing this paper at age 8 or 9, it's clear that I don't understand the gospel in its entirety, or better put, in all its depth. But, as a child I understood the heart of the gospel: "I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior."3. God gave me a mom who viewed evangelism as an essential, central component of motherhood. I still remember driving home from watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back with my mom, asking her what happens to people when they die (I saw people die in the movie), her pulling over on the side of the road to share the gospel with me, and my mom then leading me in prayer as I responded to the gospel and expressed my desire to confess my sin and know Jesus as my Savior and Lord.The memory of a mom who was passionate about knowing Jesus and having her two boys know Jesus is vivid and sweet to me.  Even though in my later years I've received some significant male mentors, it's my mom who's most significantly impacted my walk with Christ. In his providence, God knew a stubborn-hearted guy like me needed a mom like Joan Buzzard.So, mothers, share the gospel with your young children. Love them. Pray for them. Keep at it.4. God gave me a passion to share the gospel with others from a young age, a testimony/challenge to what child-like faith might look like in our lives and perhaps an early sign of God's call on my life to be a pastor. This paper confirms what my mom always tells me: as a young boy I constantly talked to people about Jesus. Yes, much of this is personality (I'm an extrovert, I love meeting new people, and I love to talk), but I think this also points to the child-like faith our Heavenly Father wants from us, a child-like faith that has, in some ways, eroded in me as I've aged.When I was a little boy I operated as though God were really big, Jesus was the most sure and exciting topic in the world, that friends and family and strangers desperately needed to know this Jesus, and that I had the delightful duty of telling them about him. Back then I didn't care what people thought about me as as I blabbed about Jesus. I guess that was the faith of a child. I guess that was a pastor being formed.Well, reading this over twenty years later, this full-grown pastor is reminded of his big God, his great Savior, his lost neighbors, and feeling convicted over his lack of child-like faith.Lord, increase my faith so that I might, to quote the old paper: "pray for them and tell them about Jesus and how he died for our sins."I'd love to hear comments from you on this topic. When did God get a hold of your life? Were any of you converted, like me, at a young age?