Charlie Sheen is the last topic of conversation I expected to come up over breakfast Easter morning. Yet, that’s exactly what happened.
Ked and I were asking the kids questions about Jesus’ death and resurrection as we devoured Resurrection Rolls (which need to be eaten more than just Easter morning). In typical childhood fashion, the conversation had no linear direction and the kids told us everything they knew about the Jesus story in random order. Four-year-old T-Rex soon fixed on the soldiers asking, “Were they good guys or bad guys?” Ked and I replied that they were doing what they were told to do, but they were extra mean to Jesus. T-Rex got a sad look in his eyes as he told us, “Yeah they beat Him up and then they made Him carry his cross.”
His big brown eyes looked down at the table as if he couldn’t bear to think of his friend Jesus being beat up by bad guys. We all sat there silently for a moment before I perked my head up and exclaimed, “But this is Sunday! And on Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead! He may have been beat up and made fun of and hurt badly on Friday, but on Sunday HE WON!” The kids lifted their heads and smiled. “Yeah, He won!” We had ourselves a little celebration as we said to each other, “He won, and because He won, we win! He beat death and sin and because we love Him, we win too!”
It was at this point in the conversation that Ked smirked at me and said, “Winning!” And that is how Charlie Sheen joined us for Easter breakfast. I shook my head and replied with a fist pump, “Winning!” (In case you live in a cave that does not have internet, the reference is this interview, which started Charlie’s media firestorm.)
Little Miss looked at us confused and said, “What are you doing?”
I replied, “Well, there’s an actor on t.v. who’s been talking a lot about winning, but I don’t think he really understands what that means, especially when it comes to Jesus.”
Then Ked added, “But Jesus won for him too. Even for him.”
I nodded my head, “And I hope he figures it out.”
And now, every time I hear the “winning” reference made, I find myself remembering the true victory we find in Jesus and praying Charlie has enough brain cells left to understand it too.