Teaching Children…

God is a complex character to understand, even for adults. Kids should be taught about God in a simple
way first so they can grasp who He is and what His presence means for them in their lives. I was
impressed with what was written by a child, Danny Dutton of Chula Vista, CA, when he was eight years
old as a homework assignment for his third-grade class. The assignment was to “Explain God.” Danny
wrote:
“One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be
enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn’t make grown-ups, just babies; I think because
they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn’t have to take up His valuable time teaching
them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.”
“God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people,
like preachers and others, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn’t have time to listen to the radio or TV
because of this. God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty
busy. So you shouldn’t go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad’s head asking for something
they said you couldn’t have.”
“Atheists are people who don’t believe in God. I don’t think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there
aren’t any who come to our church.”
“Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles, and
people finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like
His Father; He told His Father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God
said “OK.”
“His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth, so He told Him
He didn’t have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven, so He did. And now He helps His
Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which
ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.”
“You can pray anytime and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on
duty all the time. You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy; and, if there’s
anybody you want to make happy, it’s God.”
“Don’t skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And
besides the sun doesn’t come out at the beach until noon anyway.”
“If you don’t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t
go everywhere with you…like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He’s around you when you’re
scared in the dark or when you can’t swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.”
“But, you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can
take me back anytime He pleases. And…that’s why I believe in God.”
I was amazed to read this written by an 8 year old boy. Yes, as you can see, children do have a way of
asking profound questions about God – without even realizing it! But don’t let that keep you from
answering the ones you can, while also teaching them about the wonder and mystery of God’s greatness.
How do you talk about God to a child? First, talk with them simply – in ways they can understand. For
example, it’s important for them to realize God created everything – including them. But they aren’t
interested in complicated scientific theories or deep theological debates about how God did it, nor could
they understand them. But they can realize God is greater than we are – and so, we can put our lives into
His hands.
Teach them from the Bible. Your local Christian bookstore can recommend a children’s Bible storybook
that retells some of the Bible’s main stories in easy to understand ways. Teach them especially about
Jesus, who loves them and came to open heaven’s door for us. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to
me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14).
Blessings, Ben