January 8, 2026
Ka-Kow! Ka-Kow! That’s the ka-razy sound (say it super-fast) notifying me that my Emma is texting from halfway across the world. Being 14 time zones away, communicating with our daughter in South Korea comes with a few challenges. This morning, my wife gave me a head’s up that Emma was gonna text, saying so with quite the giggle in her voice. Of course, she didn’t want to spoil the story, so I just had to wait for Emma to reach out.
I’d just turned on my PC at the office and set my phone down when the KakaoTalk app on my phone chirped. Ahh, it’s Emmie, I thought. I didn’t hesitate; I opened the app to see what all the hubbub was about.
The first thing I saw was a picture she’d sent, along with the caption “One of our first graders wrote this today, and well….” The first grader’s name is Sunwoo and for personal reasons, that’s really all the 411 I’m gonna share…. Except for what he wrote.
Okay, to get the gist, look at the picture attached to this post. Sunwoo is a kindergartner at the school where my daughter teaches. Like Emmie, all the teachers are native English speakers, hired to instruct the children to become fluent in English (while advancing in grade). All their curriculum is in English.
Now that you’ve got the context, the kiddos were asked to give an “Opinion Writing.” (Mind you, these students are like 5, 6, & 7 years old). And the instruction asked: “Write 5 to 7 sentences about what you think the best symbol for winter is. Then you should draw it.” Sunwoo drew a stick figure of Jesus on the cross. (Emma thinks his family are Christians, which isn’t uncommon in S. Korea; and sharing their faith in school isn’t off limits).
Beneath his drawing, Sunwoo wrote, (and this is where it’s kinda funny): “The best symbol for winter is baby Jesus because baby Jesus made Christmas. The Jesus was killed by people but he respawned in 3 days! When you go to church you can see a + mark that baby Jesus died. When baby Jesus cries, I think it will rain. This is why baby Jesus is the best symbol for winter.”
Keeping in mind little Sunwoo isn’t a native English speaker, and he’s only in kindergarten, not too bad IMHO. I mean, his theology is way off, but c’mon man, he’s a little kid. I know adults whose theology is dreadfully worse. What gave us all the giggles is when he said Jesus “respawned” in three days. Hehehe. If you’re not quite getting it yet, here’s the definition:
re·spawn: verb /rēˈspôn/ 1. (of a character in a video game) reappear after having been killed. “if someone dies—and they probably will—they simply respawn”
I could see why Emma thought was funny. She then said, “I think he’s playing too many video games.” Perhaps, but again, he’s a kid. But if you think about what little Sunwoo was thinking, he wasn’t all that off. Jesus reappeared three days after being crucified.
And then it hit me, Sunwoo believes in Jesus; his faith trumping that of many adults. Sunwoo’s faith is informed, innocent, and imaginative, and beyond the realm of how adults think. But perhaps, that’s what Jesus was getting at when he said that we’re to have a childlike faith.
Mark’s Gospel account tells us:
“When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Ain’t that the truth! God bless little Sunwoo and his krazy kid-like faith. May we all have a faith that’s as informed, innocent, and imaginative as his.
Today, I’m thankful that Emma sent me this story, because it reiterated that truth that even I need to have the faith of a child, to see Jesus more expressively, beautifully, and magnificently. How about you?
God, thank you for Sunwoo and his childlike faith. I thank you that Emma sent this his story and picture as a reminder to us all. Bless Sunwoo and his family. Bless his classmates. Bless Emma; and bless us all by giving us more childlike qualities in our faith. Amen.