Vaccines.
Vaccines (whether you love it or hate it) generally works by introducing a tiny bit of pathogen (weakened or dead virus) in a tiny dose. Theoretically, it’s so small that it’s not enough to make you sick.
However, this little introduction is enough to allow our bodies categorize it and tag it as an “antigen” (aka, invader). Once tagged, our immune system then works hard to develop specific antibodies (aka, targeted warfare) to fight against it.
Next time, when the REAL invaders come, we have antibodies ready to go! And with appropriate ammunition in stock, our bodies can fight these invaders immediately so that we won’t get sick.
In the same way, what if these little questions/doubts from our kids serve littledoses of vaccines for our kids’ faith for the future?
What if we allow them to engage in thoughtful dialogue about hard topics, instead of just telling them what to think? Sure, we still need to teach them truths. But we shouldn’t be afraid when they DO question it.
3. Everything about faith is jarring to our current reality as we know it. Struggling possibly could mean that faith is taking deeper roots…
Faith goes against everything we know about how we view life. It takes what we know and turns it upside down and flips it inside out.
The word of God is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
There’s nothing about faith that is simply nice, convenient, and comfortable.
In fact, it interrupts and disrupts. It invades. It calls us to walk to a different drum-beat compared to everyone else. It tells us to go against the very nature of our fleshly desires. It’s about dying to the old self and a rebirth of a new life. (Romans 6:4)
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
If our kids think that faith is simply a fun youth group event on a weeknight, or a fun outing to attend on Sunday, or a checklist of rules to follow, then maybe they haven’t come to that crossroads yet.
And that’s OK.
But here is the thing. If and when they DO finally catch on and see what it is that God is calling them to live out… their flesh WILL struggle. There WILL be a battle within between the old way and the new way.
And maybe, this is when you know that their faith is no longer just a “nice” idea…but is starting to grow deeper roots and taking on a new dimension.
4. Wrestling with God actually brings us into closer proximity to Him
If you ever watch a wrestling match (WWE) or mixed martial arts (MMA)… you will see that very act of wrestling involves two opponents’ bodies slammed together, body on body, sweat mingled with sweat…
Outside of sexual intimacy, no other activity brings two people closer physically than the act of wrestling.
What if, in the very act of wrestling with God, our kids are able to come in closer proximity with God, who is their Creator and the Lover of their souls?
What if the very act of wrestling with God, allows our kids to experience God in a way that leaves them forever changed?
I often wonder about the meaning and significance in the story of how Jacob wrestled with God (or Angel of God) in Genesis 32:22-32. I don’t think I can ever grasp the significance of this event in the Bible. But one thing I know, Jacob left the wrestling match as a blessed man.
Or like how Moses wasn’t even aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD at Sinai. (Exodus 34:29)
Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down at a tender age of 17, who also authored 48 books up to date, shared about her struggle with God.
She was upset, frustrated, angry, and questioned God during her darkest days and her suffering….
But then someone showed me Psalm 77. And it was the words of that Psalm that God used to really touch my heart. Psalm 77, verses 7 to 9, are like six rapid fire questions aimed at the Lord. Questions filled with hurt and disappointment, because the psalmist cries out, “Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
-Joni Eareckson Tada
And then she quoted her friend, Dr. Dan Allender:
“The irony of questioning God is that it honors him: it turns our hearts away from ungodly despair toward a passionate desire to comprehend him.” (bold, mine)
Let that sink in for a moment. What if, by questioning God, our kids can be spurred towards a passionate desire to comprehend him?
To question God directly, to speak to Him, to cry out to Him…. maybe it isn’t thatdifferent than the lamentations of the Psalmists, or of Job or of Jeremiah the prophet. Because, when we turn our hearts towards Him, even in our despair and agony and pain, it honors Him.
And through His unconditional love, His word, and His grace… they might be forever changed by being in His presence because they have just encountered the Living God.
In Conclusion
So looking back, I do have a deep fear that my kids are going to ask me a question that I cannot answer about God and faith.
I have a fear that I won’t do Him justice in my explanations.
I have a fear that I won’t do a good job defending Him.
So maybe…my deepest fear, then, isn’t that my kids question God. My deepest fear is that I would fail them as a parent, the one who is supposed to nurture their faith.
If that’s the case, then perhaps my fears have been misdirected. Perhaps my ultimate fear is actually about ME (self-centered) rather than about God.
Because…God? Well, if He is indeed the Creator of the Universe…..He is much bigger than any question that we can hurl at him. He can handle our doubts, fears, and our flailing faith. And he can certainly handle anything our kids might throw His way.
So the next time you get asked a hard question, a question you can’t seem to answer or even something much bigger than you can grasp… just take a deep breath, pull up a chair, sit down, lean in, and ask your kiddo… “I love that you asked me that. Let’s talk. Tell me more.”
And if we are stumped? It’s okay. God’s got this.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
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This article originally appeared at Equipping Our Kids.
