Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: CHILDHOOD (03/09/17)
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TITLE: But HOW Do You Know? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Sylvia Young
03/15/17 -
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Children are so trusting, so naive, that they will believe just about everything their parents tell them until a certain age. They look up with wide eyes and say, “Really, Mommy?”
After they reach about ten, the eyes narrow and eyebrows lower as they say, “For real, Mom?”
Then, as teen years approach, the look becomes slightly condescending as they say, “No way,” or even worse, “How do you know?”, emphasis on the word 'you' as though I couldn't possibly know something.
Why do children lose trust in their parents? I haven't changed. If anything, I've become wiser, more knowledgeable, so they should believe me more! Any yet, they start to see the world for themselves, and they feel that it's not what I've led them to believe.
The sheath of childhood slowly peels away and they begin to question the existence of Santa Claus, or Easter Bunny...or Jesus, and they begin to doubt.
After a certain number of times of being asked about Santa and company, I gave in and admitted the truth, especially as they got older and their friends told them that these imaginary characters don't exist, but of course my response is different when they asked about God. Yes, He's real. Yes, He loves you and has a plan for your life. I know things are hard now, but God is here with you through all of it.
As children move from childhood to teenage years, these questions become deeper and harder to answer. I can't tell you how many times my theology has been challenged by my kids.
“But how do you KNOW, Mom?” they persist. “Like, if the Bible's really true and stuff.” "How can I be sure that God is there if I can't see Him?"
Then there's the one question that leaves so many of us speechless. “If God is real, why do bad things happen, especially to Christians?”
Ho-boy. I have to dig deep sometimes for these answers, always praying first that I won't say the wrong thing.
In the end, I often say, “There will be a moment in your life when God speaks to you. Just make sure you're listening.” It may sound like a cop-out, but it's what happened to me.
Throughout my entire growing up years, I believed in God just because my parents did, but when I went to university, I lived a life far from Him. However, shortly after I graduated, I found God for myself in a little church in the Netherlands. I've heard many similar stories from people who grew up in Christian homes. They believe when they're young, wander away for a bit, but come back, stronger than ever.
That's not to say that we shouldn't invest in teaching our children Biblical truths when they're young, or take them to church even when they protest a bit, or bring Jesus into teachable moments, but oftentimes we just have to trust that God will speak to them in His own time. It's a hard to keep the faith when you're child has gone almost as far from God as possible, but hold onto Proverbs 22:6. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.” They might seem far away, but in their hearts, in their spirits, God is still speaking to them.
It's my fervent prayer that at the right time, when their hearts are soft and ready, God will speak to my children, and they will once again accept Him wholeheartedly as they did in their childhood.
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