Johnny, a very bright five-year-old, told his daddy he’d like to have a baby brother and, along with his request, offered to do whatever he could to help. His dad, a very bright thirty-five-year-old, paused for a moment and then replied, “I’ll tell you what, Johnny. If you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one!” Johnny responded eagerly to his dad’s challenge and went to his bedroom early that night to start praying for a baby brother.

A father was related this story. I was sitting at my desk in my study after having scolded my 4-year-old daughter for misbehaving. I heard a gentle knock on the door. “Come in,” I said.

Bethany entered and then matter-of-factly said, “Daddy, sometimes I am good, and sometimes I am bad. And that is just the way it is.” Then she left the room just as summarily as she had come in, acting as if she had completely explained her misbehavior for all time.