Teaching children about God
“In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’ “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand.” Deuteronomy 6:20-21
One of the greatest blessings of my life has been that, for much of the time, I have lived with small children – and one of the joys that children bring is in their questioning. I have noticed this is particularly intense around the age of four or five. Their theological questioning leaves learned professors standing! They want to know who made God, where heaven is, why God stopped making dinosaurs and why he allows suffering. And all before eight o’clock in the morning! You may well have had a similar experience.
Moses anticipated that children would ask questions. He knew they may ask why God had given his people so many laws. And Moses was keen that the children shouldn’t be fobbed off with slick answers. They needed to be told about the turbulent history of the people of Israel. They needed to know how God had saved their ancestors from slavery in Egypt. Although it happened a long time ago, they needed to understand the great things that God could do. He was the God who saved the people of Israel then, and he is still able to do amazing things today.
We need to welcome the questions of our children and grandchildren. Taking them seriously is crucial. We won’t always have perfect answers, but it is vital we value their questions and give them a thoughtful and clear answer, so that they will come to understand just how great God is.
QUESTION
What do you think is the best way of helping children learn more about God?
PRAYER
Lord God, I thank you for the awesome responsibility of teaching children about you. Help me to always be patient in answering their questions. Amen