Teaching Children to Have a Correct View of WHO GOD IS
BY AMBER PIKE
C hildren are naturally inquisitive. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, educator, or ministry leader, if you work with kids, you get asked a lot of questions.“ Why?” is a particularly popular question, but children’ s questions can range from“ What’ s for dinner?” to“ Can you help me?” to“ How many types of cats are there?” and everything in between. Sometimes the seemingly endless amount of questions can be exhausting, until a child’ s question causes us to pause:“ Does God love everyone?”
While children are learning, growing, and figuring out the world around them, they are also trying to understand who God is and why they should follow Him. As parents, grandparents, ministry leaders, and educators, we must be intentional about giving our children an understanding of God and helping them correctly answer the question,“ Who is God?”
WHO IS GOD? God is loving( John 3:16). God is kind( Rom. 5:8). God is omnipotent( Gen. 1:1). God is holy( Rev. 4:8). God is just( Rom. 6:23). God is wise( Isa. 40:28). God is eternal( Ps. 90:2). God is caring( 1 Pet. 5:7). God is our Savior( Isa. 43:11).
God is … loving, kind, merciful, holy, sovereign, just, mighty, powerful, wise, good, eternal, caring, Creator, our Savior.
We could go on and on listing attributes of God and fill page after page after page listing the amazing deeds God has done. In fact, we could spend our entire life trying to fully understand God and never fully know Him. Psalm 145:3 reminds us that“ His greatness is unsearchable.”
If we can’ t fully and completely understand God, then how are we to help the boys and girls under our care develop a correct view of who God is? We start with the Bible.
GOD IS … LOVING, KIND, MERCIFUL, HOLY, SOVEREIGN, JUST, MIGHTY, POWERFUL, WISE, GOOD, ETERNAL, CARING, CREATOR, OUR SAVIOR.
A CORRECT VIEW OF GOD STANDS ON THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE. The Bible is not a collection of man’ s thoughts on who God is, but rather it is God’ s inspired Word( 2 Tim. 3:16) in which He reveals Himself to us. Since we know that the Bible is from God and every word is true( John 17:17), we can trust what the Bible reveals to us about God.
You could read book after book, listen to podcast after podcast, searching for man’ s thoughts and opinions on God. Some will be accurate, with a foundation built on the Word. Others, however, are just plain wrong.
Here are just a few of the wrong views of God portrayed in current books and media for kids:
God is the“ big mamma” in the sky who created the world. God can be a he, she, or it— whatever you decide. All gods are the same. God is quirky, human, and often makes mistakes.
We must be careful when we bring in resources other than the Bible. Even resources that seem“ Christian” can misrepresent God in their attempt to make the book relatable. Thankfully, though, God has made it easy for us to learn about who He is and what He has done. He’ s given us the Bible!
As we teach boys and girls from God’ s Word and disciple them, they can begin to develop a correct view of who God is. As they draw near to God, like Hebrews 11:6 tells them, they can begin to seek Him, know Him, and follow Him. What a gift that the God who spoke the universe into existence with the power of His voice wants us to know Him.
THERE IS A DANGER WHEN CHILDREN HAVE A MISGUIDED VIEW OF WHO GOD IS. Understanding who God is isn’ t a suggestion or merely a good idea. It’ s crucial for faith. Without understanding God, we can’ t understand our need for salvation. Apart from God, we can’ t
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