Bits of Blessing and Pieces of Praise

WHY DID HE DIE?

It was shortly after the events of September 11th in 2001. My family and I had gone out to eat and then to the local Christian bookstore. It was like a family tradition that we all enjoyed. We entered the front door of the bookstore and my son immediately spotted a basket of toys sitting on the floor. He was three years old and needed no invitation. He sat in the floor and started going through the basket. Picking up a cube, he began to fold it in different directions. Each way he folded it, it made a different picture. He folded it in such a way that it made a picture of Jesus on the cross. It was then he realized that I was standing behind him and he looked over his shoulder and said to me, “Why did He die, Daddy?”
Initially, I was surprised that he assumed the man on the cross died there. But I suppose that even at the age of three, he realized the picture of the man on the cross was a depiction of our Lord Jesus Christ. I looked down at my precious little boy and said, “Son, some day when you’ll understand, I’ll explain it to you”.
My answer was enough to satisfy him at the time and he returned to playing with the toys in the basket. In the days that followed, the humble question of my little boy lingered in my mind. I started to think, “What if I happened to not be there when he could understand?” I wanted to leave him my answer in a form that summed up what I really believe. I wanted him to have a permanent reminder of his father’s deepest held convictions. I would like for him and others to someday look at this poem and hear my witness ring in their ears. Before God ever created our world and all that we know, it was determined that His Son would be the sacrifice for our sins. He alone would pay the penalty for all the wrong we’ve ever done. I wanted to briefly and clearly answer his question. This poem is my answer to my little boy, or anyone else who may ask, “Why did He die”?




WHY DID HE DIE, DADDY?

Long, long ago,
before time began to be,
It was determined
to be settled upon a tree.

The Son of God
became a man.
He came to reveal
salvation’s plan.

A sinless life
He lived each day.
Walking, living and teaching
to show us the way.

For the wrong we’ve done
we could not atone.
The price for our sins
He would pay alone.

The loss of a soul
He could not abide.
And that, my son,
is why He died.

From our sins
to set us free
He came to die
for you and me.