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Does God like chocolate?
My eight year old asked me out of the blue the other day, “But what if Jesus isn’t real?”
I wasn’t expecting such complex questions at such a young age. But there have been plenty of questions I’m not sure how to answer.
“When will I die?”
“How is God everywhere at once?”
“Why do I need to pray if God knows what I’m thinking?”
Children have an uncanny ability for putting us on the spot, asking questions that we often think but don’t ask, and it can be a challenge to know how to respond. Sometimes it’s easier to dismiss the questions thinking they’re silly, or say “We’ll tell you when you’re older” – a classic get-out-of-jail-free card! But taking the time to talk through questions with our children – however crazy they might seem – is really beneficial to their spiritual development, and gives them a good framework for processing the searching questions that we all have at times.
And one of the best starting points is to value their thoughts. To let them know it is OK to have questions and that even if we don’t know the answers we can still explore together to learn a bit more.
“I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:2 (Good News Translation)
It’s also a great opportunity to look at what the Bible says together, or to talk to a church leader or other friends about what they think. You could pray together and ask God to help you understand.
Above all, give room to not always have the answers. The more comfortable our children feel in being able to ask difficult questions, the more likely it is that they will continue to do so into their teenage and adult years.
Don’t fear the questions, but enjoy exploring them together.
Becky and the Kitchen Table Project team
Can we go trick or treating? Pleeeeease?
With Halloween approaching you might have some difficult questions from your children, or some that you are trying to process yourself!
This article from Parenting for Faith looks at how we can figure out what we think about Halloween and how we can talk to our children about it.
Light parties and Pumpkin Heroes
Lots of churches run Light Parties as an alternative at Halloween. If you decide that Halloween isn’t something you want to celebrate then have a look in your local area to see if there’s a Light Party, or check out Pumpkin Heroes from World Vision.
You can download a free pack to help your family shine light into Halloween this year.
Family questions
Often we have questions that we fear asking, and it’s no different for our children. Could you create a question pot at home that anyone can put their questions in anonymously? Then once a week you can have a look at one or two and explore them together.
Our brand new event 'Raising Faith' starts in November! Get your tickets today!
2018 tour dates:
13 Nov - Yeovil
14 Nov - Oxford
15 Nov - Belfast
20 Nov - Newcastle
21 Nov - Leeds
22 Nov - Hull
Further dates to come in 2019!
Please send us your stories of inspiring faith at home – good and bad – we know it’s a rollercoaster! We’d love to include them in our emails and on the blog.
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