God And The Gravy Boat

God and the Gravy Boat

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”

— Acts 8:30 – 31

When it comes to Bible stories, hymns, and things in the spiritual realm, children can be pretty literal. For the most part, it’s benign and endearing — and can tend to excite the imagination, creating wonder and mystery. But there was nothing wonderful about the first time I sang a well-known Easter refrain. It was Easter Sunday, somewhere around the mid-1950s. I stood in the pew alongside my three older sisters, all of us in our best and frilliest garb. With hymnals in hand, Kathy, Jay, and Linda began to sing “Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior. . . .” I’d never heard the song, and it seemed kind of slow and sad. But then they hit the refrain with great gusto: “Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes. . . .”

What was that? “Up from the gravy he arose?” I couldn’t imagine such a thing. Why would Jesus be in the gravy? I pictured the Lord buried in brown creamy sauce, the kind Aunt Lee served with her roast beef. It wasn’t until later that I learned to read the refrain, and with reading, came understanding. Funny, the things we think as a child. One friend told me she thought Pontius Pilate was a “conscious pilot.” Another used to imagine that “round yon virgin” meant that the virgin was young and overweight.

It’s cute, yes. But just another reminder that boys and girls — and new believers too — need guidance. That’s why it’s always helpful to take the time to open the Word and go step by step and word by word with someone who’s young in the faith. It’s one sure way to keep God out of the gravy boat.

Invite a child or a young believer to come and sit. Ask, “May I explain this to you?”

Father, I bless you for those who have come alongside me at different times in my life to help me understand more about you. Help me now to be that individual for one of your younger children.