Cuinn’s Hero

03/07/2013 by craighayeswritenow Leave a comment

My eight-year-old son Cuinn came in from school recently with a do-at-home writing project.  He was supposed to write about his hero in three paragraphs and each paragraph’s requirements were mapped out for him.  (Did we write three-paragraph essays when we were second graders??)  Cuinn was not enthused in the least because he initially said he didn’t have a hero.

Then a few days later he went to his closet to find a t-shirt to wear.  He found a shirt that his uncle and aunt had given him once that stated simply, “Jesus Is My Hero.”  Cuinn came running out of his room with his essay idea in hand and finally he was excited!  He started jotting down his facts and main points and then put them into his final essay.

Without really knowing it, the next Tuesday Cuinn would get up in front of his class and read his essay aloud…and thereby preach the good news of Jesus Christ to Mrs. Davis’ class at Washington Elementary.  Here is his essay in its entirety:

Cuinn’s Hero
Jesus is my hero!  He was born in Bethlehem in the year of 0 A.D.
When Jesus was 12 he and his parents went to Jerusalem.  When his family left, Jesus stayed behind.  His parents got worried about Jesus because he was missing.  His parents went to look for him.  They found him safe in the temple where Jesus was asking priests questions.  The priests couldn’t believe how much he knew.  Jesus was a carpenter and he was the best teacher ever.  He also performed miracles like walking on water and healing the sick.  Jesus also helped the blind see.  He was raised from the dead!
Jesus is my hero because he never sinned and he actually can save people.  He is a real person.  He always did the right thing and he is a perfect example for me.  I want to be like him!!

Upon reading the essay, my brother-in-law Christopher remarked:  “Matthew 10:24-25a says, ‘The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.’  What struck me is that being like Jesus does seem to be ‘enough’ for Cuinn. A lesson we could all learn from…”