In The Word

I posted earlier about how teaching our children scripture is a double blessing: we are teaching them the word of the Lord and we are learning it better ourselves, having the opportunity to recite it and explain it to them. In our nightly routine my 5 year old and I also spend a few minutes going through a catechism for girls and boys. This has been an amazing experience for both of us for the same reason. She opens up with all kinds of questions and I’m put on the spot to try to explain theological truths in a manner she can understand.

Drinking from the Fire Hose

This is not to say she understands all that we talk about, or even 10% of what she has memorized, neither is it to say I do a great job explaining it, but as she gets older these things begin to sink in. Recently she has been very interested in how “God is spirit and has not a body like man” and how “God is everywhere”, which has led to many long discussions about how God is always present and knows everything yet is separate from his creation. She is totally blown away by this concept and we’ve talked about some of the many implications (he is always there when you are afraid, he knows every thought, he can hear prayers, etc.)

Here are some techniques I’ve been using when dealing with her questions:

1. Think through your answer
   Does it make sense to her age? Is there something about it she is obviously going to misunderstand? Is it theologically accurate? When we blurt things out without thinking it through, we may cause more problems than we solve.
2. Keep it simple & age appropriate
   Remember, you don’t have to expound on every aspect of theological significance. Summarize it and boil it down for her.
3. Don’t be afraid to tell her you need to think about it.
   If it’s a doozy (Daddy, where do people go who don’t beleive in Jesus?) and you just don’t know how to answer. Tell her you need to think about how to explain it and that you will talk about it later. This will buy you some time to work out a good answer, but do not use it as an excuse to avoid the question.
4. Never deliberately misrepresent scripture to your kids.
   We’re dealing with the Word of God. Difficult subjects don’t give us an excuse to twist scripture. If you misrepresent scripture to your kids not only are you a false teacher, but you’re undermining the authority of scripture to your kids, which could be devastating to their Christian walk later in life.

How firm a foundation

This kind of theological relationship with my daughter is one that I hope to cultivate through her life. When she gets older she is going to get the dose of real world and when she does I pray that this time spent with her discussing the word of God becomes her foundation for the decisions she makes as she grows up.