Schooled in the Gospel by a 4 year old

Recently, while my nephew and I were chopping & freezing apples, we were practicing his memory verse for Awana:

"for my eyes have seen your salvation" (Luke 2:30).

We were talking about what salvation means, and after some clarifications from me, he said, "So we are the apples' salvation from the worms & birds eating them because we picked them first." Yep, right on, professor 4 year old! I was reminded & humbled of how simple the Gospel is by my nephew! The apples needed help if they were not to be destroyed by worms & birds, and helpless to do it themselves, they needed a savior. They didn't need an example of how not to be worm infested, they didn't need encouragement not to be worm infested, they needed a savior to do something they were helpless to do themselves!
The Gospel is that simple, even though we so often try to make it more difficult than that. Reality is, I need a savior - not an example, not encouragement, but a savior to pay a price I am utterly helpless to pay...and the bigger reality is that IT HAS BEEN PAID! Through the cross, I get to exchange my sin (and all of the guilt, consequences, & death that go with it) for Christ's righteousness & eternal life...and I don't have to worry about being eaten by worms! Lord, thank you for the simplicities & complexities in the Gospel...keep them both in the front of my mind & fresh on my heart!
And yes, immediately following the profound statement about salvation, my nephew asked me if I was done chopping apples yet so that we could play operation. And yes, the analogy breaks down because the apples will be eaten by us instead of by worms and birds...and I'm looking forward to it!