If we know one thing about children, we know they are usually overflowing with questions. Life is filled with things to learn, and questions are one of the primary tools children use to learn what we as adults once had to learn ourselves. These questions usually begin simple, but as children mature, their growing understanding can lead very quickly to difficult and serious questions about life in a broken and sinful world.
In response to these questions, parents face the temptation to let fear motivate their actions. Fear tempts parents to minimize hard questions or ignore them entirely, leaving children to discover the answers on their own (something, we should note, children are surprisingly good at). In the face of fear, one key truth can help parents fight these temptations. This truth seems simple on the surface, but its implications are profound—God is in control.
The truth that God is in control leads to a life-changing reality—parents do not need to fear. Fear can take the form of many different questions: What if I give the wrong answer? What if the answer drives my child away from God? What if my child asks a question that I can’t answer for myself? The truth of God’s control is a soothing balm for hearts wrestling with fears like these.
God’s control means parents do not have the ability to impart spiritual life or take it away. There is no parental failure the gospel can not overcome and no parental success that can turn a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Knowing this, parents can approach difficult questions with the freedom that comes from knowing the weight of eternal destiny does not rest on their shoulders. Parents do not need to feel pressure to give the correct answers right away. In fact, parents can live as examples to their children by approaching difficult questions with faith-filled confidence in God’s goodness and humbly admitting their mistakes and seeking to make them right.
God’s control also means that parents do not need to fear that difficult answers will cause their child to reject God. Instead, parents can embrace truth and teach it to their children, knowing that God is the one who brings spiritual life. There is no difficult reality God can not overcome in the heart of any child, so parents can approach difficult questions with confidence that the truth will never drive a child further than God can reach.
In light of these realities, parents can do nothing better than devote themselves to prayer. If you feel unprepared for difficult questions, or if you find yourself faced with them right now, God promises in His word to give wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). Pray for wisdom, and pray for the heart of your child. The God who controls everything is also the God who is moved by the prayers of His people, and He can do more abundantly than all we ask or think!
All the best,
Luke
Missional Action Plan: If you have children, pray that the Lord would help you answer their difficult questions with wisdom and trust. If you do not have children, pray the same for those who do!
Missional Action Prayer: Lord, nothing is outside of your control, and you promise to give wisdom to those who ask. Give me wisdom to answer my child’s difficult questions, and help them to receive those answers well. Amen.
As we gather for Sunday worship, we want you to meet with God and be transformed by the Word. Prepare your heart by reading the passage and listening to the songs for Sunday.
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