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A few weeks ago, my daughter called early one morning and handed the phone to my five-year-old grandson Lincoln. In his enthusiastic little voice he asked, “Papa, can we go to Chex Mix Roadhouse tonight?” I had no idea what he was talking about. Together, in today’s message, we’ll discover what Chex Mix Roadhouse is, and why it might matter to our spiritual life.

At first I didn’t know what he meant. What was Chex Mix Roadhouse? I had never heard of such a place. Then it suddenly dawned on me. Lincoln was talking about Texas Roadhouse. To the ears of a five-year-old boy, Texas Roadhouse and Chex Mix Roadhouse apparently sound exactly the same.

Once I realized what he meant, I laughed out loud. And honestly, I suspect that for the rest of my life I may never hear the name of that restaurant without thinking about Lincoln and the Chex Mix Roadhouse.

But as the morning went on, that moment kept coming back to me. It made me think about the way children hear the world differently than we do.

Lincoln wasn’t trying to be funny. He simply heard what he heard and said it with complete confidence. In his mind, it made perfect sense.

Think about this for a moment.

Children have a remarkable way of living like that. They speak honestly. They trust easily. They laugh freely. They don’t spend much time worrying about whether their words sound sophisticated or polished. They simply say what’s in their heart.

Somewhere along the way, many of us lose that kind of simplicity. Life teaches us to be cautious. Experience makes us skeptical. Disappointments make us guarded. Over time we begin to question everything and trust less than we once did.

Yet Jesus once pointed to children as an example of the kind of faith we are meant to have. In Matthew’s Gospel He said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Let me explain what I think Jesus may have been pointing toward.

Children don’t pretend to have everything figured out. They simply trust the people they love. They believe what they hear. They move through life with a kind of openness that many of us slowly lose as the years go by.

Lincoln’s Chex Mix Roadhouse moment reminded me of that kind of simplicity. He wasn’t worried about getting the words exactly right. He simply said what he believed he heard.

And maybe that’s part of what Jesus meant.

Faith isn’t about having perfect understanding. Faith is about trusting the One who loves us, even when we don’t fully understand everything He is doing.

Sometimes we make faith far more complicated than it needs to be.

Coach Lou Holtz was famously known for one of his speeches about keeping life simple. He would often say that life really isn’t complicated. According to him, there are only three things we need to remember: do what’s right, do the best you can, and show people you care.

Think about that for a moment.

That sounds remarkably similar to the kind of faith Jesus was describing when He told us we must become like children. Children don’t overanalyze everything. They simply trust, they try their best, and they care deeply about the people around them.

If you’d like to hear Coach Holtz share this message himself, you can watch a short clip of that speech below.

Maybe faith isn’t nearly as complicated as we sometimes make it. Trust God. Do what’s right. Do the best you can. Show people you care.

And when you think about it, isn’t that exactly what the season of Lent invites us to rediscover? Lent gently strips away the distractions and complications we accumulate throughout the year and calls us back to something simpler: a renewed trust in Jesus Christ, a willingness to follow Him more closely, and a heart ready to celebrate the hope of Easter.

Sometimes the most profound truths in life really are the simplest ones.

And sometimes it takes the innocent words of my five-year-old grandson talking about the Chex Mix Roadhouse to remind us all that faith might be a lot simpler than we make it.

Heavenly Father, help me rediscover the simple trust of a child. When life becomes complicated and my faith begins to feel tangled in questions and worries, remind me that you are still the loving Father who guides my steps. Give me the humility to trust you, the courage to do what is right, the strength to do the best I can, and the grace to care deeply for the people you place in my life. Amen.

AMDG 

AMDG is a Latin abbreviation for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” which means “For the Greater Glory of God.”

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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