“How…how did God…. how did God make us?”
This was a question posed quietly, and to no one in particular, by a 4 yr old. My 4 yr old. She was sitting on the couch, coloring a butterfly picture.
One can only imagine what was going on in her head to prompt this question.
It is hard to sit and just converse; to let kids question, process, and be silly about their ideas.
How many times do we simply talk AT kids, and not with them. We always want to have an answer, to be the ones our children can approach to get the facts.
Well, I for one don’t have a concrete answer for this. The Bible says he made us out of dust. Well in a world full of fact, trials and evidence, this is a hard answer to swallow. It is faith, and trust that helps us as adults believe this. Kids can take it as ‘that is that’ , but more often than not, they want the why and how.
I recently asked a group of 3rd-6th graders if they had any questions about God.
“If you could ask God one question, what would it be?”
I was expecting a few hands to go up, maybe a few quiet responses. What I received was this:
- All kids have questions. How do we help?
Each kid had at least one question, many had 3 or 4. They had enough questions that we ran out of time before we could get through them all!
The only answer I had for many of the questions was simply, ‘I don’t know.’ And that answer is not a cop out.
It is honest, and kids need to see that we, as parents, leaders, and teachers, don’t always have the answers, and wet have to leave it up to God.
What can we do?
First of all, ask the question! It is amazing what kinds of things will come out, and where your conversation will go once they are warmed up. Don’t expect to have all the answers about God, or grace, or even explaining the Jonah story. Just be open and honest about your faith, your love for Christ, and your trust in a wondrous God.
Let them be silly. Let them ask about God flying in a spaceship – this is how they process.
Here are a few questions that were asked by our 8-11 yr olds.
- Does God know all of our names?
- What language does God speak?
- How did he make the world? We were made of dust, but where did he get the materials to make the world?
- What does God look like?
- Is God a girl or a boy?
- What are angels?
- Are angels like God’s servants?
- Does God live in a mansion?
- Does Heaven ever get full?
- Does God have super powers?
- Does God know about all the wars going on?
- Does Jesus have a grandma and grandpa if God is his father?
- Where did God come from?
- Does God have feelings?
- Does God get angry? and if he does, how does He deal with it?
- How does God work through our feelings?
- Does God have a bedtime?
- How does God control the weather? Does he have a remote control?
- Does God watch TV?
- Why are we made into THIS shape?
You are children of God; never stop questioning the awesome power of a God that not only answers questions, but wants us to ask them.
Pray with me:
Lord, we are amazed by your awesome power. Help us each day to trust in you; in the wonders you have created. We ask for courage to be open about our questions, and courage to be comfortable asking our youngest minds to ask the same questions.
And all of God’s children said….AMEN!
