Some of us have used the language of Godly Play to tell the story of the Risen Christ during this Easter Season, a story which calls us to join disciples as they learn to "Know Jesus in a New Way." My favorite moment of that story is when we're invited into Thomas and the disciples' doubt and wonder: "And why wouldn't he have some doubt? Their minds were stretching, stretching to be big enough to know Jesus in this new way."

Children often invite us to know Jesus in a new way, and to remember that we are all disciples on a journey of questioning and wonder, just like Thomas and all the others who have come before us. If we're doing this Christian discipleship thing well, I think we are always looking for new ways to recognize Jesus in our midst, and new ways to tell the story to our children (and to ourselves). And we are probably better off if we start out by being honest with ourselves, and with our children, that it takes some serious work and preparation and learning and conversations with each other to be disciples. If we're really in the business of forming and being disciples together in community, then we're all going to need to bring our A-game, old and young alike.